HDN: Fame and Glory (Discontinued)
by Porpol
Summary: Some say our lives have already been written out for us. All the friends we make. All the paths we take. Everything. Of course, such a convenient book does not exist. But what if it did. What if someone held their own future in a single journal. Would such knowledge be used for the better of others? Or for personal gain?
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone. Thanks for reading my first ever fanfic. I'm a bt anxious about how it turned out, so feel free to give your honest opinion.**

 **Before we get into the story, I'd like to clear a few things up.**

 **First, I assume everyone here has already played the series. Anything seen in-game won't get any big description (in upcoming chapters). For example: I won't go in-depth about how a character looks or how certain area's appear. Anything original like OC's or area's I added for the sake of the story will get a description.**

 **Second, if a handful of you guys do like where the story is going and do enjoy the way I write things, I'll make sure to release the following chapters within a short time.**

 **Without further ado, let's get right into the prologue.**

* * *

 **-Prologue**

 **Lastation**

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

It was a cold night in Lastation. Most people wouldn't want to spend their night outside. The streets were deserted, with the exception of a single black-haired girl.

It's been a month since she and the other CPU's defeated Rei Ryghts.

When everything was slowly growing calm again, she realised something was off. Someone did not return from the ultra dimension with the CPU's of Planeptune.

She had asked Neptune and Nepgear several times on what really happened in all those years, but the both of them always told her they had no idea and that it would be for the best if she didn't know. Of course, they didn't say it like that, but it was very well implied.

Until recently, she had given up on figuring out the truth. It was then that she received an E-mail, asking to meet her on the roof of an old, abandoned arms store.

Upon arriving, she entered the store hesitantly. The building was taller than the other buildings around it. Most of its windows were broken or panned up with wooden boards. Inside were broken display cases. Most of them were empty, while others still had old, worthless models in them. There also was a single sleeping bag resting to the side of the wall.

Moving further into the store, towards the stairs to the roof, she was starting to have second thoughts.

She knew the truth wouldn't be pretty. Yet, Neptune and Nepgear refused to tell her what had really happened. Would it be better to turn around now and pretend she never got the E-mail?

Clenching her fist, she walked up the stairs and opened the door to the roof. It was now or never.

Upon opening the door, the black-haired girl could see a slightly well maintained roof. In the middle there was a long wooden table, with several strange things on them. A gun, a journal, a strange device that glowed purple, a silver brooch in the shape of a dove, an old group picture of everyone before fighting the deity of sin and a familiar backpack **.** On the left there were three chimneys lined up with a figure leaning against the middle one, looking over the lit up city. The figure was wearing a scarf and a black raincoat with jeans.

"It's you, isn't it?" the black-haired girl asked while walking towards the figure.

The figure turned towards her, revealing some of its pure white hair…

" _I don't remember the white hair though._ " The black haired girl thought to herself.

"Why don't we take a seat?" the figure suggested. "It's been far too long and I presume you want to know everything that happened."

"Sure… But it's not like I need to rest after walking such a petty distance" the black-haired girl pouted.

The figure let out a chuckle. "You are her Sister after all" the figure mumbled under its breath.

The both took a seat at the table facing each other. The figure shoved the device and the old styled gun out of the way.

"Where should I start?" the figure asked while opening the blue journal, scanning the pages.

"How about starting from the beginning. The very beginning. Even when we were traveling with each other, the both of you were pretty sceptical about your origins and why you hated each other."

The figure rose an eyebrow. "You don't want to know what happened in the other dimension?"

The black-haired girl leaned forward. "I do, but clearly something big happened. And I feel like it has something do to with before you came here."

"I see. I suppose that makes sense. The two of us really were being too mysterious about the whole situation, I guess. Alright. Try to sit as comfortable as possible, because this is going to take a while"

"Hold on a sec." The black-haired girl interrupted.

"Eh? What is it?" the figure asked.

"two side questions. First, why didn't you just come to the bassilicom?"

"Because I didn't want Noire or Kei to know about our meeting. They'd probably somehow leak it to Planeptune. I'll get to that later." The figure explained.

"Alright. Second, Noire and Kei are both currently out for the night and they won't be back any time soon. Why are we still on a cold, messy rooftop of an abandoned building?"

"Oh… that's because… erm…" The figure started to rub its temple with its finger while trying to come up with an answer. 'Because… we both… uhm...'

"Never mind." Uni sighed. "Pack your stuff. We're moving to the bassilicom."

The figure gave a nod while letting out a 'hmpf' and started to gather the things on the table.

"So anyway, about how we got here and what our relation was… I'll tell you along the way. But it all started with a small, purple, glowing rock." The figure began.

 **Hyperdimension Neptunia: Fame and Glory**

* * *

 **And with that I conclude the brief introduction chapter. Once again, thanks for reading all the way through and any review is appreciated. If you think it sucks, I won't blame you. You think it's the best thing since sliced bread, I'll be sure to upload the rest.**

 **\- Porpol**


	2. Chapter 1: Love and Vengeance

**Hey everyone. First of all, happy new year to all of you. Hope you've had a great year.**

 **So welcome back to the first official chapter of the story. Fair warning, this chapter is going to focus on the backstory of the two OC's. There won't be any HDN character involved yet. (I'm saving that for next chapter. ;P )**

 **Also, throughout the story, Uni and the figure will be conversing occasionally. The figure is retelling the story, after all.**

 **-"** ** _Uni's lines look like this._** **"**

 _-"The figure's lines look like this."_

 **With that out of the way, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Love and Vengeance**

 **22/12/2026**

 **Home - 15 : 08**

 **Entry Number 01**

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

It was that time of the year. A few days before Christmas. Lilith and Geoffrey were both busy with the final touches for Christmas eve. In the living room, Geoffrey was fixing (or at least trying) some broken festive lights while Lilith was in the kitchen preparing a cake for the family dinner they had scheduled for tomorrow.

"Next, add a spoonful of-" Lilith read out loud before being interrupted by Geoffrey ranting something incomprehensible about 'lights' and 'physics'.

"How hard can it be to fix a bunch of light?" Lilith teasingly asked. "What do physics have to do with this anyway? Back in school, didn't you use to have some of the highest grades in that stuff?"

"Joke's on you! I scored slightly below average on my final physics test. Also, electricity is a bi-" Geoffrey tried to explain before Lilith interrupted him.

"Yeah, yeah electricity and gravity. That kind of stuff. Can you get back to work now?"

Lilith didn't get any response. She assumed he just went back to work.

In the living room however, Geoffrey had booted up his laptop to see if anyone would deliver a set of working festive lights on the day before Christmas.

"I'm a chemist, not a physicist." He mumbled to no one in particular.

A few hours later, both of them were done with their chores. In the end, Geoffrey managed to get most of the lights working again. They just had to cover the ones that weren't.

"Good job on the lights. I'm sure no one will mention why we covered some of them with tiny paper reindeers." Lilith jokingly said.

Geoffrey sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. "They won't. And if they do, I'll just tell them they celebrate Christmas in New Zealand that way."

"… Why?"

"Because they celebrate Christmas in summer."

"…"

"… What?" Geoffrey asked with a smug smile on his face, still looking at the TV.

"How is that supposed to explain anything?" Lilith asked while taking a close seat next to him on the couch.

"I dunno. But if they ask, that's what I'm telling them." Geoffrey said while putting his arm around Lilith. "That reminds me, how did the cake end up? We can't serve our friends whatever monstrosity you made last year."

"That… that was just an accident!" Lilith exclaimed.

Geoffrey covered his right ear.

"Gah. My ear's ringing. I'm right next to you, you know?"

"Ah.. uhm. Sorry. Well, it was your fault for bringing up last year, anyway."

"Well I'm not going to forgive you that easily. How about you make it up properly." Geoffrey said while pulling her closer.

 ** _-"Wait, did you two… I don't want to hear it. skip this part!"_**

 _-"Hey, I was just building up the moment. beside, a key point of the story comes after this"_

 ** _-"Then get straight to the point!"_**

 _-"…Not like I was planning on telling you what we did. I didn't even write it down… So anyway. Skip ahead half an hour or so."_

"Say, Geoff." Lilith said while walking to the dresser.

"What's up, Lily?"

"I actually got you something for Christmas. But I feel like you deserve to get it a little earlier." She said while holding a small box.

"Wait, why aren't you keeping it for the family dinner? Wouldn't that be much more… uhm… pleasant, for everyone." He asked. "They'd love to see us exchange gifts."

"It's just something small that's been in the family for some time. But I think you'd like it. You said you were friends with a 'smith', right?"

"Yeah. Vince. What about him?"

Lilith opened the box, revealing a purple, diamond shaped gem. Inside the gem was a circle with a line coming out of the bottom.

"You can probably turn this beauty into a necklace or even a hairpin for someone dear to you." Lilith said with a wink. "It used to be in my mother's possession, so I'm giving it to you now, so she won't know I'm just giving this away. Not like it's of any use just sitting in this box, right?"

Geoffrey grabbed the stone and examined it for a moment. Then he turned it upside down.

"When you look at it like this, it looks like a power symbol." He mentioned. "What is it anyway? An amethyst?"

"No idea. We never took it to an expert. But isn't researching materials also part of a chemist job description?"

Geoffrey got up from the bed.

"I guess I can do that. I'll probably check it when no one's looking."

Suddenly, Geoffrey embraced Lilith in a hug.

"Thanks Lily. I don't think there's anything out there that can ruin this moment… But it probably is too big to fit in a hairpin."

* * *

"I'm sorry, but… the estimated time is ten years. After that, the medication won't be enough to keep you alive."

 **9/1/2027**

 **Hospital, Doctor's office – 12 : 00**

 **Entry Number 15**

 **POV: Lilith**

After an incident at work, Geoffrey had to go to the hospital. He told me he was experimenting with some deadly virus, when a piece of old equipment started to malfunction. He got a full doses of the stuff in him. Of course, the company will be held responsible and we've already got word that they'll cover most of the medical bill. But hearing something like this certainly took the me by surprise.

I looked at Geoffrey. His eyes were empty. He clearly was already aware of what would happen, but hearing it must have hit him hard.

"I suggest you take it easy for the time being." The doctor suggested. "You'll also have to take these pills every half a month. They'll make it a bit more comfortable."

Geoffrey was still staring at the ground. Seeing him like this made me feel uncomfortable. There had be something I could do, right?

I leaned in closer and put my hands on his shoulders to comfort him.

"We'll get through this. Together." I whispered. He's a strong man. He won't let something like this get in the way of his life… Right?

Things didn't get better, however. A month later, Geoffrey started to become depressed and distant. He stopped going to work and locked himself up in our bedroom. I couldn't bear it anymore. In the end, I divorced and found a new husband, David. But Geoffrey still had something that was rightfully mine. Something he wasn't have (Or so I was told). The purple gem with the 'power symbol' in it.

 ** _-"So what happened? Why did you two get divorced?"_**

 _-"Isn't seeing someone with a crippling depression all day long enough?"_

 ** _-"I don't think it is."_**

 _-"Well, you are right… But I can't find entry 16 anywhere, which kinda has all the details on what happened."_

 ** _-"But you were there. You're supposed to remember this kind of stuff."_**

 _-"I'll get back to it later. Why it happened is not that important right now."_

* * *

 **7/2/2028**

 **T.O.W. labs , First floor: Analytic laboratory – 23 : 57**

 **Entry Number 17**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

Top of the world labs, or T.O.W. for short. I'd rather never come back to this place company was nice enough to keep paying me, even in my absence. They also told me to 'come work whenever I feel like I need a distraction.' Like hell I'm here to give those rodents any more employment. I'm here to finally fulfil a request I accepted long ago.

"Let's see what Vince was talking about." I mumbled to myself while walking inside.

I used my work pass to enter the lab. At this hour, there shouldn't be anyone here to disturb me. Everyone makes sure to leave ASAP on Mondays.

Security wasn't that tight around here. There aren't any guards at the doors nor are there camera's around the lab sections. It would make it far too easy for someone to sneak in and steal some deadly toxins.

"Now that I think about it, this place really is a cheap excuse for a company." I mumbled to myself.

Once inside, I put on my standard lab coat and pulled the purple gem out of my pocket.

"It's been over a year now since I got it from her. Might as well see what it really is." I thought to myself.

I put the purple gem in one of the open spots of the scanner. It's an advanced scan that uses electrons to scan the contents of whatever solid material is put in. Of course, it's not one of those magical scans that you turn on and it tells you exactly what your item is made of and some thinking was still required. but at least it would give me a rough idea of what kind of gem I had in my possession. I won't bore myself with the details on what it exactly does and how it works.

I turned the scanner on and put in all the settings.

"a couple of minutes should be enough" I thought.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Hey there Geoff. Still got that stone?"

"Lily?"

I turned around and faced Lilith. She was…. Wait… she's pointing a gun at me!?

"What's with the gun?... And how did you even get in here?" I asked. She simply smiled. Creepy.

"I'll be the one asking the questions." She said while I cringed at the cheesy line. "I see you finally got to testing that stone. Whatcha planning on doing with it? Sell it?"

"It's none of your business. Is this how you greet all of your old friends? Haven't heard a thing from you after you ran away with that police officer. What's his name again? David?"

Lilith let out a sigh, taking the safety switch off the gun. She's serious about this.

" If you want it back, you can have it." I said with slight anger while taking a few steps back. "Besides, it's not like I can do a whole lot with it, considering how long I've got left."

My back was put against the scanner, which was starting to make rather concerning noises. I probably could've paid more attention to it if a certain someone wasn't pointing an old styled gun at me.

Lilith walked over to the table on which I had put my journal and started to look through the pages at random. The journal was still new and thus mostly empty. I didn't really get the chance to use it since the incident, which is a pity because it was a pretty expensive one. The cover was custom made to be extra hard and, as the manufacturer called, 'bullet proof'.

She's strangely calm about the whole situation. I, on the other hand, could feel the cold sweat on my back. Would she really go that far to kill me?

"Come now, you've had a pretty decent life, right?" She asked. "No need to get so depressed. Beside, no one's going to miss you when you're dead. What does it matter if I pull the trigger or not?"

I was starting to pay less attention to Lilith and more to the scanner. While she was rambling on about 'how bad I've been to her', I couldn't help but worry about the huge amount of 'error' s that started to show up on several screens.

"You say it like it's true." I countered. "But, I am fairly certain there's someone among us that's going to miss me. Right, Lilly?"

Lilith let out an annoyed 'hmph'.

At this point it was getting very obvious that something 'not okay' is happening inside the scanner. "By the way, are you not slightly worried about… well… uhm" I pointed out while gesturing to the scanner behind me.

With that, she too started to notice that something was clearly off.

"What's going on? Is this supposed to happen?" She said worriedly.

"I'm-…. I'm fairly certain it's not." I said while trying to figure out what was going on.

"Well, what are you waiting fo-"

Before Lilith could finish, the machine made a loud crashing noise. After a few seconds, it started to glow with a bright purple light. We were both forced to cover our eyes.

"What the-" Lilith cried out before another loud crash interrupted her.

I tried to answer, but the crashing noises coming from the machine were simply too loud. I could barely hear myself think.

After a brief moment, I could feel myself getting pulled towards the light. And within seconds, it got quiet. Everything went by so fast. I could barely make it what was happening.

I slowly opened my eyes, but there was nothing around me. It was simply pitch black and I was the only visible thing. How… strange, to say the least.

It still felt like I was falling. Slowly, but surely.

"Is this… am I…. dead?" I said while pinching myself. "Ow. No, I'm pretty sure the dead don't feel pain. Or anything for that matter."

Minutes passed. Still trying to figure out what was happening, I tried to move from my spot. Of course, if you're 'falling' you can't get up and just walk about wherever you want to go.

After another set of uneventful minutes, I started to wish for something to happen. At that point, a small white dot started to appear in the distance.

"A light?" I thought to myself. "It's getting brighter. Pretty fast. Well… it's something, I guess."

Suddenly, when the light was at its brightest, I could that I was falling a lot faster than before.

"Wha-! WHOOAAAAA NUOOOOOOO!" I cried in surprise.

Looking down, I could see a huge landmass surrounded by water… Yes, an island, probably. It had three cities on the main land. They were white with a tint of purple, white with a tint of pink and snow, and black with… well… more black, I guess. There was a green city south of the main landmass.

 ** _-Can you be any more inaccurate?_**

 _-Would you be able to remember every single detail of a map while plummeting to your impending doom? Basically, it's just Gamindustri._

The ground was closing in. I was heading straight for a forest next to the purple city. Instinctively, I put my arms in front of my face and made myself as small as possible.

After hitting a few branches along the way to the ground, I fell in a small lake. It broke my fall completely. You'd think you would feel at least something after falling from that height. Guess I lucked out.

After I got out of the lake, I started to look around.

"Where am I?"

* * *

 **And that concludes the first chapter. Feel free to let me know what you think and if you have any questions about the story so far, send me a PM and I'll make sure to respond ASAP.**

 **-Porpol**


	3. Chapter 2: They begin

**Hey everyone. Glad to see you all back again for the second chapter of the series. I've made the chapter a bit longer this time. Hope you don't mind more plot, because this is the approximate length the upcoming chapters going to have. Future chapters might get bigger, but I'm not sure yet.**

 **I've noticed that it's a bit hard to read some of 'the figure's ' lines so I'll be changing how they look.**

-" _From now on, the figure's lines look like this."_

 ** _-"Uni's lines still look like this."_**

 **I'll no longer keep you from the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: They begin**

 **Entry number 18.1**

 **Lastation, Rebeat Resort**

 **POV: Lilith**

After I got out of the water, I took a moment to look around. Wherever that light brought me, it wasn't a place on earth. I've never seen an island like that on the map. The cities also looked far too futuristic.

Looking around, I found myself on a metal platform near the coast. The platform was round and connected to other similar platforms by metal walkways. On one of the other platforms, I could see… uhm… Is that a skeleton whale swimming on air?

"That's so cool." I adored. "But how does it work? Why does it work?"

Questions would have to come later. First of all, I have find someone that can tell me where the heck I am.

Suddenly, there was someone (or something) making a croaking noise.

"Ribbit"

"Eh?" I mumbled while turning around staring down on a frog under a box. A rather strange-looking frog at that.

"Oh… uhm… Hello there little guy." I said with a forced smile on my face. What a creepy little thing.

The frog however was a little less talkative and instead decided to tackle me in the stomach.

"OW! Hey! What was that for?" I angrily asked, while getting surrounded by more similar frogs with boxes on their head. Uh oh.

I checked my pocket for the gun I tried to use before, only to find out that it wasn't there and instead laid on the opposite side of the platform... How'd it even get there?

"Dang it… Alright. I might be able to just jump over them and quickly grab it." I said under my breath while getting ready to make a run for it.

The four frogs were starting to close in. It was now or never. "Alright. Here I go!" I shouted while trying to jump over one of the frogs. Unfortunately, it got spooked of me running towards it suddenly, so it took a few steps back, resulting in me jumping on it rather than over it.

"Whoa!" I cried while trying to keep my balance. Strange enough, the frog was getting flatter… and flatter…. And I crushed it…. Oh… eventually, the remains started to shine turned into binary, fading as quickly as it appeared.

"…"

What just happened? I simply stood there for a few seconds, looking at the other frogs, which seemed as equally shocked. Probably because I killed one of their comrades so easily. I on the other hand want to know why a frog exploded in a bunch of 0's and 1's after getting crushed.

"… Well I guess I can get rid of these guys plumber style." I said jokingly, while regaining my composure. "Then again… Why would I need something like a gun when they're all the size of a football?"

After crushing the three remaining frogs, I picked up my gun and started to walk in no direction in particular. This place is like a maze. How am I even supposed to get to the main land?

All things aside, this place looks pretty nice. The water is deep blue, the sky is as clear as can be and the creatures around here give it a kind of weird JRPG feeling. Too bad they're all trying to kill me. On the plus side, none of them really stood a chance, with the exception of a non-skeletal whale, which I had to run from.

Now that I think about it, the layout of this place would make it a perfect dungeon for a random JRPG.

After killing a handful of those creatures, I finally could make out the route to the main land.

"Alright. One step closer to getting out of this mess. Now to-" My train of thought was interrupted by distant gun fire, making me jump.

I quickly looked around me to see where the shots were coming from.

"Gah! Just die already!" an unknown voice cried.

Looking towards the source of voice, I could see a black-haired girl fighting a crab monster thing in the distance.

"Don't see that every day." I thought. "Well, it's better than just standing around doing nothing."

 **-** ** _"Mind if I take over here? I think I can narrate this part way better."_**

 _-"_ _Well if you insist, go ahead._ _"_

* * *

 **POV: Uni**

Taking aim at the King crab, I took a few pod shots at it, while trying to keep my distance. I've been trying to take this thing down for the last ten minutes now. How is it still alive? Maybe I should start being serious and go HDD.

The Crab suddenly charged forward taking me by surprise.

Dodging out of the way last second, I quickly recovered and opened fire once more.

"This guy really is resilient."

Without warning, the Crab charged forward once again. I easily avoided the attack by sliding right under it, getting a few good shots on its weak spot. For a crab, he sure liked to charge into his opponents rather than pincer them.

Taking a few extra shots at the monster, it finally started to weaken. "This is it!"

With the final shot, the Crab dispersed into data.

"Whew. I think that's enough for today. Time to turn these quests in and get some more shares for Lastation." I thought to myself.

Out of nowhere, a lone Delinquent Cat charged at me while I was taking some healing items out of my pocket.

"What the-!?"

However, before it could hit me, it was shot down by someone else.

Turning to the shooter, I saw a woman holding a very outdated model. I think it's a Glock 17. The Lastation police force used those things about thirty years ago.

"Heya." Then woman greeted. "You okay?"

"Oh. Uhm… yeah, I'm alright." I said while approaching her. "Thanks for the cover. I probably should've paid more attention back there."

The woman looked a bit older than me. Probably around her mid-twenties. She has long brown hair and blue eyes and wears a green jacket over a black tank top with a pair of jeans. She also wears a pair of white sneakers. I don't recognize the brands on her jacket or shoes though.

"You think? You looked like you were handling yourself pretty well against that Crab." She said with a kind smile on her face. "My name's Lilith. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Uni. Hmm…" I looked Lilith over once more. She was certainly dressed herself… Different. "I like your clothes. Did you design them yourself?"

This seemed to take her by surprise.

"Oh. Uhm… No, I didn't. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just don't recognize any of the brands on them, so I thought you're one of those people that designs their own clothing."

Lilith took a moment to think before responding.

"I-… I'm not really from around here, you see. I was wondering if you could tell me where I am."

"Huh? You mean you came from another nation? Well… The dungeon you're currently in is Rebeat Resort. It's at the border of Lastation." I explained.

Lilith seemed even more confused now. "Las-… Lastation?" She must come from far to not know about Lastation.

"You don't know about Lastation?" I asked.

"Well, like I said, I'm not really from around here. I kinda just got here in a rather strange way."

I scanned Lilith over again. The brands on some of her clothes certainly weren't any of those that Gamindustri has. Maybe she came from overseas. I know there's some other landmasses out there that have CPU's, but they're pretty far away.

"I see…" I continued the conversation as a walked towards the dungeon's exit and gestured Lilith to follow me. "Do you at least have a place to stay?"

"I don't actually… Wait, what kind of currency do you use here?" She asked while grabbing her wallet.

"You're worried more worried about being able to spend money than having a place to sleep?" I said in surprise. "You have some strange priorities. Well, anyway, we use credits."

"…"

Lilith simply stared at me.

"… what?"

"You know… I don't know what I was expecting. Why did I take 500 pounds with me anyway?" She asked no one in particular while pocketing her now worthless money. "I was hoping I could perhaps book a hotel for the time being. Don't really feel like sleeping on the street."

"Well, you can come over to Lastation's bassilicom… uhm, you do know what a bassilicom is right?"

Lilith simply shook her head. Does she not have CPU's where she's from? "Basically, it's the place where CPU of a nation resides."

"Alright, but what's a CPU? You'll have to explain all this stuff along the way." Lilith said with her index finger on her chin. I agreed and we both made our way to Lastation's bassilicom.

- **Lilith has joined Uni's party**

* * *

 **Entry Number 18.2**

 **Lastation's bassilicom, Uni's room**

 **POV: Lilith**

"Okay I think I got everything down. So in a nutshell, CPU's are the goddesses of Gamindustri . They protect the people of their nation in trade of their loyalty and faith, which gives them strength and makes them stronger" I summed up after Uni's long explanation about each of the four nations, Gamindustri, dungeons, quests, shares, CPU's and their transformations.

"That's right." Uni happily said. "Any more questions?"

Somehow I doubt any of this is really happening. It all seemed so… strange. Maybe the JRPG idea I got earlier really does apply to this world.

"No. not really… well, one, perhaps." I started. "If this is the bassilicom, then the CPU?... Wait, don't tell me you are the CPU, Uni!" I concluded. Wouldn't that be too convenient if she indeed was the CPU of this nation. Maybe she could help me get out of this mess with her godly powers.

"What? N-no, I'm not. Well, actually. I'm this nation's CPU candidate. But please, keep referring to me by my normal name." She added with an awkward laugh while rubbing the back of her head. "I've never liked it when my… uhm… M-my friends called me things like lady Uni."

I noticed how she slightly shuddered at the word 'friends'… hum.

"As of where my sister, the CPU of this nation is." Uni switched to a more serious mood as she started to explain the situation.

"A few years ago, my sister and the other CPU's went to a place called the Gamindustri Graveyard. They were on their way to stop the evil organisation of ASIC."

Uni sat down on her bed, collecting her memories of what happened.

"We…. We're not quite sure what happened to them. We assume she's still alive, but ASIC has taken control of most of Gamindustri in her absence. Nowadays, kids see piracy as a common thing. We can't a do a thing about it without them."

I still find it strange how the CPU of a nation gains faith through games, of all things.

Uni put her hands on her lap, looking down at the floor.

"If only I could've gone with them. If only I were stronger. I could've saved them, I could've saved her."

Oh dear, she'll probably get pretty depressed if I don't step in.

I crouched down to her eye level and grabbed her by the shoulders. She looked up in surprise, staring me directly in my eyes.

"Hey now. No need to get all down like that. We all made mistakes in the past, things we've come to regret. But if we only look back, we'll never see what we may bump into ahead of us."

I let go of Uni's shoulders. I had her full attention at this point.

"Wherever your sister is or whatever she's doing, I'm sure she wouldn't want her little sister to feel down like this. Tell me. If she were here right now, what would she tell you to do?"

"She… She'd tell me to get stronger and…"

She paused, probably imagining about what her sister would want her to do right now.

After a while, I could see smile returning to her face. Guess it worked…

"You're right. Noire would never want me to feel bad about the past. She'd want me to improve so I won't make the same mistakes again."

"That's the spirit." I added. "With that attitude, you'll get stronger in no time. Beside, you don't have to do this alone."

Uni gave me a confused look.

"Hm? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I'm not really fighter like you, but I'll support you in any way I can."

"Wait. You can't fight?" She asked, visibly shocked. "Everyone in Gamindustri knows how to defend themselves. Don't you have a weapon or…"

"Well, I do have this gun, but what I mean is… Unlike you, I can't really take the hits that well."

"I see… Hang on." She said, while pulling out some kind of device… a phone?

"What's that?" I asked.

"Oh this? I suppose you don't have these back in… uhm… where'd you say you came from again?"

"I haven't told you yet, but I'm from England."

Uni looked dumbfounded at me.

"In Europe."

"…"

"On Earth?"

"…"

"I may have travelled from one dimension to another." I concluded.

I couldn't see any other explanation for what was happening. The strange creatures bursting into data, the CPU's, gaining faith through games… This has to be some kind of different dimension.

"That's… Are you serious?" Uni asked. "I mean, you're awfully calm about this."

"I only just figured it out myself. I… Well, I don't know what to say."

I grabbed a chair from the desk next to me and took a seat.

Just how did I get here? What was that stone?

A few minutes of silence passed before Uni spoke up again.

"Lilith? Are you okay?"

Snapping out of my train of thought, I turned to Uni and smiled at her.

"I'm fine, really. It's just… I'll probably have to find a way back. I think I left the stove on back home." I joked.

"That's your biggest concern?" Uni asked, completely oblivious it was a joke.

"Huh? N-,no… I was just kidding. Eheh. But I'll tell you about my world and all later. You still haven't told me whatever that thing is you are holding."

She somehow completely forgot she was even holding something, I guess.

"Oh, right. Well, this is a phone."

…ah. It just looks a bit different.

"You can call people with it, text them, send e-mails and check your party's level and lily rank."

And it sounds like they even have better apps in this dimension. Great. Gotta look into the lily rank app.

"Wait. Level? Lily rank? What's that?"

"A level is… Well, your combat level. When you fight monsters, you get stronger and your level goes up. If you sit around and do nothing, it goes down after a while." She explained.

This world really is like a game.

"As for lily ranks, they're basically a parameter that tells you how close you are with your party members."

"Really now?" I asked. "So what's our lily rank? What's our level?."

"I was already going to check your level. Let's see…" Uni said while navigating through a few menu's, suddenly freezing up.

"Uni?" I asked with light concern.

"Your level…It's…" She mumbled.

I got up from the chair and looked over her should at the phone's screen. It displayed two windows, one for the both of us. I don't know how, but my window has a pretty good portrait of me.

Next to the portrait was a number with the letters 'lvl' before it. Guess that's the level.

 _Uni: lvl 16_

 _Lilith: lvl 21_

"… Why am I five levels up on you?"

"I… I don't know." Uni stammered.

I really hope this doesn't hit her confidence. Last thing I'd want is her getting depressed.

I quickly glanced at Uni's face. Contrary to what I expected to happen, she instead was… laughing?

"That's so cool!" She said a bit out of character. "You're this strong without ever fighting. Imagine how much stronger you can get if you did fight alongside me!"

"Well… I still don't really have a weapon. I don't think I'm good enough with this gun alone to-"

"Then we're gonna go shopping right now." She interrupted while pulling me along.

"H-hold on. I don't even have any money." I tried to argue

My comment fell on deaf ears… I hope she's the one paying… Actually, I don't, because then I'd probably have to pay her back.

* * *

 **Entry Number 18.3**

 **Lastation mall**

 **POV: Uni**

Walking down the main street of Lastation, we entered the mall. You'll find all the basic shops here. Supermarkets, restaurants, clothing stores, arms stores, you name it.

-" _How is an arms store a basic shop?"_

 _-_ _ **"It is in Gamindustri. We've come to consider weapons like guns to be as normal as bread."**_

Half way here, I had stopped pulling Lilith along. Maybe I got a little too excited. But this is the first time I'm going shopping with a friend.

"So what's your preferred kind of weapon?" I asked. "I'll have to know, because there's a lot of different specialised stores around here."

"Well..." Lilith said while thinking. It's weird to imagine someone of her age never having fought against a monster before.

"I guess I could use something like a blade or a shield. That way I can deal with things from afar and up close."

"I see. Alright then. I think I have a rough idea about what you'd like"

I gestured her to follow me once more to the second floor. Here, we entered weapon store that is specialised in melee weapons.

"Blades, shields, maces, axes, you name it. They've all got it here."

Lilith looked a bit hesitant. It must be weird for her to just go to the mall to buy a weapon or two.

"I don't know if I'm the kind of person that would go around slashing monsters and all." She said. "Do I really have to do this?"

"Don't be such a let-down." I scolded. "Look, if I want to become stronger, I'm going to need someone to help me. That's what you've told me, remember? You even told me you would support me in any way you could."

"I didn't really say that and I probably didn't mean it like that if I did." She responded, rubbing her temple with her finger.

"I am fairly certain you something among those lines."

"Alright, I give up. But can you pay up front for me? I don't exactly have a lot (or any) money at the moment."

"Don't worry, I've got you covered. Just don't pick anything too expensive."

We took a few moments to browse around and try different kinds of weapons. If she was going to dual wield her gun along her weapon, she wouldn't be able to use any two-handed weapons, obviously. She also had trouble lifting some of the heavier weapons like the axes or the maces. A shield was also kind of out of the count, because it would require her to be close to her opponent. It would be better to use something like a blade or a one-handed spear to keep monsters at a distance.

"I could probably just bash them with my shield, right?" She said, trying to convince me.

"It wouldn't do a whole lot of damage though." I countered. "We can, however, get you a small shield that you can strap to your lower arm. They're light and provide you with some protection."

"If you're okay with buying two things instead of one, then fine by me."

It was then that Lilith seemed to go quiet for a second. I think she something among the lines "How could I forget about it?".

"Did you find something you like?"

"Yeah." She answered, picking a rapier while giving it a few swings. "I used to go fencing when I was young. It's been ages since I've held one of these."

"Why did you stop?"

"I just got bored. It wasn't really that much of a challenge anymore."

"So I take it you're pretty good with one, then?"

"It's been some time, but I suppose I can give it a shot."

I took a quick look at the price tag.

"Hmm… I don't think I'll be able to afford both this and the shield. This and the shield are both pretty expensive. Aren't there any cheaper ones?"

"Well, they're the all same, actually." Lilith blandly stated.

"I guess they're not that popular then." I sighed. "Alright. It'll have to do."

With that I paid for the rapier and two holsters. One for her gun and one for her new blade.

Walking out of the store, Lilith seemed a lot happier than before. Looks like I made the right call to take her to the mall.

"Want to get some ice cream?" I suggested. "I still have some left over credits."

"You sure about it? I already feel bad for making you pay for all the other things."

"It's fine. You'll just have to treat me next time. Also, I kind of want to hear where you come from. Like… How is it back in England?"

"And what better way to listen to a story than with ice cream?"

She let out a small laugh, while giving me a pat on the back.

"I like the way you think, girl. Dibs on all the strawberry flavoured stuff."

She certainly seems to be in high spirit.

"Chocolate for me." I replied

After we both got our cups of ice cream, she started to tell me about her old life.

"… And we have a queen instead of CPU's. We pay outrageous taxes instead of buying their games."

"We also have taxes in Lastation, but they're pretty low."

"Well I think I've got another reason to stay in Lastation."

"But what about how you came here… I mean, you didn't just go to bed and wake up in Gamindustri, right?"

"Not really… I can't really explain it either. I mean, Geo-" Lilith stopped mid-sentence, as if remembering something important.

"Hm? What's the matter?"

Lilith was silent for a good minute.

"I just realised something." She finally said. "When I that portal opened… I was with someone else. An old 'friend'."

"Someone else? But you said you got here alone."

"That's exactly my point. I got here alone, but I left with someone else. Whatever happened to Geoffrey?"

* * *

 **Entry 19.2**

 **Planeptune bassilicom**

 **POV: Nepgear**

*Achoo*

"What's the matter Geoffrey?" I asked. "Did you catch a cold?"

"No, I just… Never mind. carry on with your explanation, IF."

* * *

 **Hey everyone. Thanks for reading this chapter all the way through. I had a pretty hard time determining how I should've portrayed Uni in this situation. I didn't want to make her too tsundere, because she mostly acts that way around people that are younger or about her age. When she's around Noire, she acts pretty different. Mostly because she's her sister, but also because (obviously) is older than her. Same goes for Vert, Blanc and Neptune.**

 **Feel free to let me know whether you enjoyed this chapter or not.**

 **-Porpol**


	4. Chapter 3: Joining the Party

**Hey everyone. If you're still here, you're either enjoying the story so far or you just skipped ahead a few chapters. I really hope it's the first. ;P**

 **Anyway, I've got another chapter for you, ready to go. You may think I'm rushing these, but to be honest, I just don't want to lose my train of thought. You've probably noticed a lot of foreshadowing in the prologue and some in Chapter 1. Point is, I've already planned pretty far ahead. Not like I've already written the entire thing out in my head, but the general idea. For example, in the original version of chapter 3, I didn't include Entry 19.3 or Entry 20. They just came into play when I wanted to add some more personality to the characters.**

 **So that's that. With that out, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Joining the party**

 **Entry number 19.1**

 **Virtua Forest**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"Ugh. My head. I'll never go sky diving again." I whined. "seriously though, what is this place?"

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted when some debris and some of my belongings started to crash around the spot I landed, making me jump. Luckily, all my belongings fell on the ground, while all the debris fell in the water behind me.

"How… convenient." I jested.

After quickly grabbing my belongings, including the purple gem, my backpack, my journal and my phone (which somehow was still working perfectly fine), I decided to go exploring.

Realising I was still wearing my lab coat, I took it off and put it in my backpack.

I took a moment to look around. I was in an open field with a clear path. There were a few tries to the side of the path, but not enough to call it a forest.

In the distance, I could see a group of blue slime balls with cute dog faces approaching me.

"Oh look. An enemy. I should probably press the B button to punch them." I joked to myself. "No, but seriously, I'm starting to think I actually did die and ended up in some kind of twisted heaven."

I was quickly interrupted as the goo-dogs (as I called them) started to surround me. One of them tried to simply tackle into me, but I managed to counter it by whacking it with my journal.

"Wha-! Hey, I didn't think they really would start attacking me. Welp. Time to bash them to a pulp, I guess." I casually concluded… What, did you expect me to try to converse with them and convince them to not kill me? I mean, they started it.

After bashing my way out of that mess, I kept on walking, only to run into even more… monsters? I guess that's what they are, going by standard RPG rules. In any case, they didn't really stand a chance. Most of them would explode (for some reason) within two or three bashes.

Upon realizing I got a mostly empty journal, I got an idea. "I should probably keep track of this stuff. You never know if it might become some kind of hot blockbuster story if I make my way back home."

* * *

 **Virtua Forest – Depths**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"Now this looks different." I thought to myself. "I've been walking for what feels like a good half an hour now. The way out has to be close, right? Then again, what am I even going to do when I get out of this place? I should probably head over to that city I saw before. It's not that far from here."

"Kyaaaah!"

"What was that?" I asked out loud.

I rushed to the source of the cry. Reaching the edge of the round metal platform, I looked down on another platform. I could see a group of teenage girls facing a delinquent, goth girl wielding a pipe.

"Alright then. Which one of you broads wants to go first?" The delinquent taunted

"Looks like those damsels are in distress. Let's see if this journal really is bullet-proof… Or lead pipe proof in this case."

 **POV: IF**

This underling stronger than I first thought. It must be because of the amount of shares ASIC has in this area.

"Heheh. How was that? You broads are all bark and no bite." Underling continued to taunt. "I'll just kill you all, one at a time. And I think I'll start with… hmm…"

While Underling seemed to be thinking deeply on who to start with, Gear let out a yelp.

"Eep."

 **-"** ** _How do you know about the part you weren't there for?"_**

 _-"_ _…_ _"_

 ** _-"Or the parts seen through the eyes of others?"_**

 _-"_ _…_ _"_

 ** _-"Or the parts you-"_**

 _-"_ _Because plot convenience, damn it."_

"I think I'll start with this annoying brat." Underling decided, walking over to gear while dragging her pipe against the floor.

"What? M-me?" Gear stuttered. "W-well, you see, I didn't really do anything to you, so, uhm."

Without a warning, Underling took a swing at Gear.

"Look out!" I warned.

I tried to run over to block the hit for her, but I don't think I'm going to make it.

 ***Clang***

"Huh? What the hell? Who are you?" Underling asked.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a man appeared, blocking Underling's swing.

The black-haired man that had reflected Underling's hit seemed to be around his twenties. He wore a purple unbuttoned lumberjack shirt with a white t-shirt bellow it and carried a black backpack with a blue motif. There was a sleeve of what looked like a lab coat sticking out of the backpack. He also wore blue jeans with a pair of black shoes. Something more noticeable were his eyes. I don't really know how to describe them, but they seemed distant. As if he had seen something he'd rather forget.

Underling took a few steps back to examine the one who blocked her hit.

"Care to explain what's going on here?" The man exclaimed.

"Uhm, me trying to hit that bitch in the face with a lead pipe. What else does it look like, you old-timer?"

"Wha-?" The man was clearly shocked by being called an old-timer. "I'll have you know that I'm only 22 years old. Men like me still have plenty of time before they start going grey."

"Whatever gramps." Underling rebelled. "I can literally see it in your eyes that you've already had most of your time behind you. Now, you gonna move out of the way, or you gonna take a beating for those girls."

The man didn't move and readied himself for a fight.

"Tsk. Lolicon."

With that last insult, Underling also readied herself for the fight.

"Hey Iffy. Why is that elderly man using a book for a shield?" Compa wondered.

"I have no idea. But it looks sturdy so-"

I didn't finish my sentence. I realised that gear is still sitting there with her hands covering her head. I could hear her softly sob about getting hit before. I ran over to talk in on her.

"You alright, Gear?"

"I-…I'm sorry! I… I'm useless aren't I?" She continued to bawl.

"Hey now, you got to have more confidence in yourself. Just look at that guy over there. He saved you from a straight blow to the head. And… Well, I wanted to help too. But I wouldn't have made it in time."

"What?" Gear responded. "Why would you help? Why did he help? I can't even carry my own weight. Let alone the weight of those that need me. I don't think I can do this."

She's losing her confidence again. I should try and cheer her up first.

"Come now. I tried to help because I wanted to. And I bet he had the same idea. No one likes to see a girl in pain, you know."

"I-… but… I don't understand."

"I wasn't there three years ago when you and the other CPU's needed me." I started. "I don't want to feel that helpless again. So I decided I needed to protect you, and everyone else, no matter what."

"IF…"

Gear simply said my name, trying to fully understand what I just told her.

"Damn it! Stop trying to hit me in the belfrey! That's the one place you can't hit a guy!"

We both looked over at the ongoing fight with the sudden cry made by the man. Surely, Underling was trying to land a blow on his, as he called it, 'belfrey'. This kind of ruined the atmosphere.

"It's either that or your head. Pick your poison, you senile scumbag."

"S-… Senile!?"

The man once again froze up upon being called old. He should just deal with it, if you ask me. He shouldn't pretend that he's still young or anything.

Still shocked, the man dropped his guard for a moment giving Underling the time to hit him in the face, knocking him back.

"Oomph." The man cried.

Looking back at Gear, I could see she finally got up and got a look of confidence.

"I won't let that happen!"

With that exclamation, everyone looked at her. Looks like she finally remembered how to transform.

"I see you got your passion back." I stated. "Think you can take her on yourself?"

"I can win. I can do this!"

"Atta girl. Now then, Nepgear…"

 **POV: Nepgear**

With those words IF leaned in closer… A lot closer. What the goodness?

"Uhm…" was the only thing I could say before she interrupted me.

"Let me pass my strength over to you." Was the last thing IF said before finally closing in for a-

 ** _-"That never happened_**."

 _-"_ _But… it really did. I mean, it even says so here in the journal._ _"_

 ** _-"Yeah right. I'll ask Nepgear myself next time I see her."_**

 _-"_ _You… Uhm… Didn't get this from me, got it?_ _"_

With that, I felt power flowing through my body. Enough for me to transform again.

As a bright light engulfed me, everyone around me could only look in awe.

When the light faded away, I was in my transformed state. CPU candidate Nepgear.

"Wait… Oh crap! You're a CPU!?" Underling snarled.

"This is my… No. Our power!"

With that I readied my blade for the fight. The guy had already taken a few steps back. Time to repay the favours I own those two. A thank you for protecting me for the middle-aged man and a good beating for Underling for hitting before.

- _"She's completely wrong about the middle-aged part. You're middle-aged when your 45 or 65._ _"_

"Here I come!" I shouted as I charged forward towards Underling.

 **POV: Compa**

With her cry of confidence, Gege charged towards miss Underling, which looked pretty scared.

They were trading blows quite frequently at first, but after a while, Gege got the upper hand and started to hurt miss Underling badly.

"Eh, excuse, but do you girls know why she is wearing a rather scantly swimsuit?… and why she's floating?" the grampa asked, now standing right next to us.

"Oh. Hey mister. Thanks for saving Gege back there. I'm Compa. And this is Iffy."

I cheerfully introduced us to him. You have to respect your elders, after all.

"That's 'IF'." Iffy corrected. "And the one you asked about, that's Nepgear. The CPU candidate of Planeptune."

"Well, a pleasure to meet you both. I'm Geoffrey… But… what's that about computers and candidates?" Mister Geoffrey asked.

"Geo-… Jeff-… Dzjeo-…"

I was having trouble with pronouncing Mister Geoffrey's name. It's not as hard as Nep-nep's, but it was still pretty hard.

"Are you having trouble saying my name?" Mister Geoffrey asked, completely forgetting his question about CPU's. "It's Jo-Ff-Rey."

"Well… yeah. It's a hard name. Can I give you a nickname? I give all my friends cute nicknames."

"Uhm… why not just call me Geoff?."

"That doesn't sound cute at all."

"Pff. Fine. But don't call me Goofy. I'd get in several lawsuits if you did."

I took a moment to think. I already called Nepgear Gege, so…

"How about Geoffy?" I suggested. (Pronounce: Jeffy)

"… Not that original, but I guess I can dig it." Mister Geoffy agreed. "If you don't mind, I'll just refer to you two as IF and Compa."

"I'll just stick with calling you Geoff then." IF added.

"Gyaah!"

The three of us looked over at the battle between Gege and Miss Underling. Looks like Miss Underling was knocked down to her knees.

"GAH! That's so unfair, transforming and all. I mean, c'mon. really?" Miss Underling complained.

"I'll spare your life if you leave now in peace." Gege said with a heroic attitude. Gege looks so cool in her HDD form.

" 'Oh, yes ma'am, thank you so much.' Like hell I would say that."

Before Gege could react, Miss Underling dashed to the mascot and smashed it.

"The mascot!" I called.

Miss Underling had smashed the mascot pieces with her swing. It looks like it's broken beyond repair.

"Haha. Serves it right." Miss Underling boasted. "Next up, Lastation."

And with that, Miss Underling ran away at full speed.

"Hey! Hold on!" Mister Geoffy shouted at her. "Man, she sure is quick on her feet. By the way, what was that thing she broke?"

Gege crouched down, looking at the broken mascot.

"Oh no. The mascot"

"Worry not, CPU candidate" A voice reassured.

Mister Geoffy said something quietly that vaguely sounded like "Am I being ignored?".

"Huh? A voice?" Gege asked.

"Worry not, CPU candidate. I am this nation's mascot. How unexpected to see my body be destroyed during my slumber."

So that heavenly voice is indeed the mascot…

"I sense that you have come here for my aid. I shall grant you my the remaining power I have separated from my body"

With that, the mascot gave Gege her powers and faded away.

"And with that, the mascot faded away." IF stated. "That was a close call."

"Are we going to ignore the fact that it probably just died?" Mister Geoffy asked to no one in particular.

"Yes, but it was all thanks to you IF." Gege praised.

… Wait a second.

"No fair! Iffy got to be all lovey dovey with Gege" I pouted. I want to be close with Gege too!

"W-what? That's not w-what happened, you idiot. Uhm… C'mon, we should report this back to Histoire."

With that the four of us walked off… Wait a second… again.

"Death means nothing to you girls apparently… Also… please stop ignoring me." Mister Geoffy pleaded.

"Oh! I'm so sorry" Gege, now back in human form, apologised. "I didn't even get to thank you for blocking that hit for me. Uhm… I'm Nepgear. Pleased to meet you."

"A pleasure, Nepgear. I'm Geoffrey." He said introducing himself again. "So anyway, can you three answer a few questions. I'm kind of not from around here."

"Huh? Oh. Sure. Ask whatever you want to know." Nepgear responded.

* * *

 **Entry 19.2**

 **Planeptune bassilicom**

 **POV: Nepgear**

*Achoo*

"What's the matter Geoffrey?" I asked. "Did you catch a cold?"

"No, I just… Never mind. carry on with your explanation, IF."

"Right." IF continued. "As I was saying, if we want to rescue Nep and the others, we're going need the help of the mascots of each nation. And that's it. Any questions?"

Geoffrey took a moment to try and understand everything IF just told him. He told us he got sucked up by some kind of black hole and ended up in our dimension. I was surprised to hear that he didn't know about basic things like CPU's, shares and dungeons. It took us a good hour of explaining before he understood everything.

"I think I got everything. But are you serious about Nepgear being the CPU candidate of Planeptune?"

"Well, I may not look like it, but yes. I am." I responded.

"And you're saying you don't age at all… And you're born as a CPU?"

"That's right."

"I have so many questions right now." Geoffrey said putting his hand on his chin. "Oh, whatever, they can wait. You girls are in a hurry to get those mascots, right?"

"Not yet." IF said. "We should let Histoire know what happened."

Right as IF said that, Histoire entered the room.

"Oh. Welcome back, everyone." She greeted.

Geoffrey leaned over to whisper something to me. "That's Histoire?"

I nodded in response.

"Don't see that every day." He added.

It was then that Histoire noticed Geoffrey.

"Who might this young man be?"

"I like the way she thinks." Geoffrey mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Histoire asked.

"Uhm, nothing. Ahem. I'm Geoffrey. I take it you're Histoire."

"Indeed." Histoire responded. "I am Histoire, the all-seeing tome and the oracle of Planeptune."

With the formalities out of the way, Histoire turned to me.

"Well then. Nepgear, were you successful in acquiring the aid of Planeptune's mascot?"

"Yes. The mascot shared some of its remaining energy with me, before fading away."

"Fading away?" Histoire asked with a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Mister mascot was smashed into itty bitty bits by miss Underling." Compa explained. "She said something about being a front-line member of ASIC."

"I see. Then that means ASIC is aware of the existence of the mascots of Gamindustri."

"She also said something about going for Lastation's mascot next." I added. "We shouldn't waste any more time and chase after her."

"Hm. I see that your passion has been relit, Nepgear." Histoire noted.

"Y-,yes. I'm still kind of anxious, but I should be fine now."

"Excellent. Now then, I suggest you do as Nepgear said and follow this Underling to Lastation."

"Just a moment." Geoffrey interrupted.

"What's the matter Geoffy?" Compa asked.

"If I may, Histoire, you called yourself an 'all-seeing tome', right?"

"That's right. I am Histoire, the all-seeing tome. I record the history of Gamindustri and its CPU's."

"Do you know anything about traveling from one dimension to another?"

"Why, yes. I am sure there is an entire chapter dedicated to it in my tome."

"Could you find a way for me to go back to Earth?"

"Oh? Are you perhaps not from Gamindustri?"

"Well, no… You see…"

 _-"_ _One explanation later."_

"Hm. That does sound quite troublesome, indeed." Histoire agreed. "I'll try to find whatever I can, but it will take three days."

"We won't be coming back to Planeptune anytime soon anyway, so that's fairly convenient." IF said.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Histoire recalled. "Nepgear. There's something you should know about the other nations. Much like Planeptune, Lastation and Lowee also have CPU candidates."

"CPU candidates? Just like me?" Nepgear wondered.

"Yes. You should try and convince them to help you on your quest. They might refuse at first, because each nation as problems of its own, but I'm sure they'll help you if you tell them you have found a way to save their sisters."

"So they're Noire and Blanc's little sisters." Compa pointed out.

"Sound like we've got a plan. Let's go to Lastation." IF declared.

 **Geoffrey has joined the party**

* * *

 **Entry number 19.3**

 **Planeptune main street**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

Before we could head out, Compa suggested we'd split up and buy some supplies. If we're going to run into anymore of those ASIC crooks, we have to be prepared. IF and Compa went to the general store to buy health items, while Nepgear and I went shopping for some better gear.

I probably should also pick up another weapon. If that Underling could get so many easy hits on me, I will need a more reliable weapon.

Lucky for me, weapons are not that hard to come by in Gamindustri. I didn't bother to ask why. Probably because of all the monsters roaming around.

"So… Geoffrey."

"Hm? What's up?"

"Why do you use that book as a weapon? I mean, it looks pretty strong, but don't you have anything more efficient?"

I shrugged at her question.

"We don't really need weapons all the time, back where I came from. Heck, I'm amazed weapons like blades and claws are common things in Gamindustri."

"I see… Maybe I can help you pick a weapon then." She said with a cheerful smile. "Tell me, what kind of weapon would you like to use?"

At that point, we walked past an advertisement of one of the many shops.

 _'The new and improved E.B.B. MK. 4 , now for 1000 credits.'_

Bellow the text was a picture of little bag that you could fit around your waist with all kinds of weird buttons and gizmo's attached to it.

"What's an E.B.B.?" I asked, pointing at the ad.

Nepgear looked over to where I was pointing.

"Oh, that? It's an endless ball bag. They can give you an endless supply of sports balls. You only need to put in one ball. They're mostly used for sports and outdoor games, though."

"Can you put in anything else? Like… an apple?"

"Well, theoretically, yes. But after a short while, the created items disappear, so it's not like you would have an endless supply of whatever you put in."

"What about bombs?"

Nepgear looked at me with a surprised gaze.

"Huh? I-, Well I think it would work with some modifications. I don't think anyone has tried it before though. Do you perhaps know how to make bombs?"

"Kind of." I mean if you mixed two highly flammable elements with the right stuff, you're certain to get an explosion out of it. "You mentioned you're good at tinkering, right?"

"You mean you'll let me help you customize the E.B.B. if I buy it for you?" She assumed with starry eyes.

"Well, uhm… Sure."

Without another word, she ran inside the store. Not a second later she ran out with one of the E.B.B.'s in her hand.

Did she even have time to pay for it?

"What are you standing around for?" She asked. "Let's hurry and get the rest so we can start customising and tinkering ASAP."

She grabbed me by my sleeve, pulling me along the street.

"H-hey, hold on, not so fast!"

* * *

 **Entry number 20**

 **Somewhere between Planeptune and Lastation**

 **POV: Nepgear**

After we found everything we needed, we regrouped and headed off to Lastation. The only way to Lastation was by foot. Geoffrey did question this on multiple occasions. He'd say things like: 'You invented bags with an infinite supply of sports balls, but you can't make cars or trains?' or 'What do you mean walking is healthy'. In the end he just gave up.

If we'd keep a decent pace, we should get there within a few hours.

The entire time, Geoffrey was drawing and writing in his journal, while IF and Compa were having a conversation about random things. We'd run into a few monsters occasionally, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle.

"Iffy. My feet are starting to hurt." Compa complained. "Can we rest for a bit?"

"We're almost there." IF responded. "But I won't mind stopping for a bit either."

After we found a good resting spot, I approached Geoffrey once again.

"Hey, Geoffrey. Now that we're taking a break, can we finally start working on the E.B.B.?"

"I was actually just done thinking on how we're going to customise it."

Geoffrey opened his journal, showing me a general design on how it should work and how we'll have to do it.

"Hmm…"

I looked through the design for a moment.

"Is something the matter?" He asked.

"Well. You could use a BSB-engager instead of a normal engager here while…"

-" _Twenty lines and some drawing later."_

"… And thus optimising the output of slot X." I said while adjusting the design with a pen.

"…"

"Uhm… I mean, yeah. It looks pretty good."

"Ahem. Right." He continued. "The only problem is that we don't really have the parts to-"

Before he could finish his sentence I pulled out my gearbox and tools.

Geoffrey simply stared at me with a baffled look for a few seconds.

"Where'd you pull that from?" He asked.

"All normal girls carry gearboxes and their tools with them everywhere. Well, that's how it is in Gamindustri. I don't know the about the girls of Earth."

Geoffrey looked over at Compa and IF, which were busy having lunch.

"Uhm. Sure. Yeah. I didn't think Compa was such a gearhead."

After a few modifications, we finally managed to turn the E.B.B. into the E.B.B.

"Wait, that's just the same name." I noted.

"Nope. This E.B.B. stands for endless bomb bag." He responded. "So now that we got that out of the way, we'll have to make a single model bomb the E.B.B. can copy."

"I don't think I have any materials to make an explosive."

"Don't worry. I got these highly dangerous, toxic and flammable materials in backpack."

"W-What? Why do you have those? How do you have those?"

"I didn't steal them from a poorly secured workplace." He lied while taking out the pots and vials he had taken along. "I wonder how these didn't break during the fall. Oh well. Here, take this mask, these gloves and this coat. You're gonna need it."

He forced a set of gloves and a face gas mask into my hands while eagerly putting a lab coat on me. I have a bad feeling about this. Why does he even have two gas masks?

After getting everything set up on a tree stump, we started making the so called 'example bomb'.

"Now add 2 spoons of KOH to section A while I heat up section 3." Geoffrey instructed.

"You mean this stuff?" I asked while I poured some of it in section 2.

"No, don't touch tha-!"

*BOOM*

After adding some of the wrong ingredients in the wrong spot, the bomb went off and exploded right in our faces. Looking down at my clothes, they were completely blackened by ashes. Geoffrey took of his gas mask, revealing his face which was still clean. For some weird reason, we were both unharmed.

"Ugh. Let's try that again." He said while grabbing another shell, which I had made just in case something like this would happen. "Next time when I say spoons, don't just add all of it at once."

"S-Sorry. I kind of got nervous. You said that this stuff can kill someone when not handled properly, so… Shouldn't you ask Compa to help you with this? She is a nurse after all, so she probably knows how to work with this stuff way better than I do."

"Compa's a nurse? I thought she was a tinkerer like you."

"Why did you think that?" I asked while taking my gas mask off.

"Well, never mind. Look, that explosion almost killed us both just then (not really). You made the mistake because you were nervous. Anyone with two hands and a set of eyes can do this. Have some confidence. You're working with a professional."

Geoffrey made a wide smile when he said 'professional'. He probably thinks pretty high of himself.

"I guess you're right. Alright. I'll have more confidence from now on."

After two more failed attempts, we finally managed to get the job done. We decided to make a small bomb, as a test for the E.B.B. . If it didn't work, there wouldn't be any damage.

"Alright. All done. Time to test this thing out" He said.

"Just a moment." IF interrupted. "Have you two seen yourselves? You're all oily and dirty from all those failed attempts."

IF and Compa, who'd been watching quietly both got up from their spot and walked towards us.

"You two should probably go clean yourselves." Compa added.

"Oh. Right. But we're kind of in the middle of nowhere." I pointed out.

"There is a lake nearby, just over in that direction." Compa said. "You two can clean yourselves over there.

"Oh okay. Thanks for the tip Compa." I said while dragging Geoffrey along.

"H-hey, hold on a sec." He protested half way there.

"What is it?"

"Have you forgotten what it means to clean yourself? Like… when you wash your clothes?"

Suddenly I realised what he meant…

"W-What the goodness? I, uhm. I didn't mean it that way, I just, uhm."

Geoffrey sighed.

"Oh, stop it. We'll figure something out when we're there."

"O-okay."

* * *

 **Hey y'all. Good job on making it all the way through once again.**

 **For those of you who are wondering what the heck is going on with that last bit, don't worry. I won't be shipping any characters in this story. I just felt like adding a silly little scene in here. Beside, Geoffrey was already a married man. It'd be weird if he… well, you know.**

 **Also, for those who are wondering what level Geoffrey was when fighting Underling, he was level 21. The same as Lilith after killing a few monsters. I dunno how he managed to lose to Underling when he was that overpowered.**

 **Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the story so far. Feel free to let me know what think.**

 **-Porpol**


	5. Chapter 4: Rewrite the Future

**Hey everyone. Welcome back to the next entry of HDN: F &G. It took a little longer to get this one done, mostly because this is the chapter we're going to change the story of Re;Birth 2 by quite a bit. And I don't mean we're just adding a character or a scene. The entire story us going to change because of an event.**

 **Pay close attention though, because there's some heavy plot in this one. It'll probably be one of the few times I'll be adding this much plot in one chapter, but I did want the main cast to finally meet up with Uni and no longer delay it with filler. Problem was, if I stopped the filler, I would've had to kind of 'rush' a major plot point and I didn't want the chapter to be +5k words again like last time.**

 **So with that out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Rewrite the future**

 **Lake near Lastation's border**

 **Undocumented entry**

 **POV: Nepgear**

We arrived at the lake Compa had pointed us to. I still had no idea how we were supposed to… well… 'separate' ourselves from each other.

"W-we could take turns, right?" I suggested.

"We could have if you didn't leave Compa and IF behind like they're irrelevant or something." Geoffrey responded. "They're probably waiting for us to get back right where we left them, but we shouldn't let them wait for too long."

"Then how do you suggest we… Well. I'm just too embarrassed to take off my clothes in front of someone I barely know."

"…"

"…"

Silence. We both just looked at each other awkwardly. I noticed Geoffrey wanted this to be done with ASAP. You could just read it from the look on his face. Eventually, he spoke up.

"You do realise I'm way older than you, right?"

"Doesn't that make it even more weird?" I said. I could feel my face getting slightly red. Oh dear. I really hope this doesn't go the way I think it's going.

"Alright. Know what? Screw it. Wanna test out that E.B.B. we just made on that tree over there?"

"Huh? Why would you want to test it now of all times?"

Before I could get a response, Geoffrey pulled the E.B.B. out of his backpack and strapped it to his waist.

"You'll stop complaining if I give you some privacy, right?"

"D-don't say it like that." I stuttered while waving my hands in front of me.

My comment was, once again, ignored. Geoffrey pressed a few buttons on the E.B.B. , which created a perfect replica of the 'example bomb' right in Geoffrey's hand.

"Seems like it works just fine." Geoffrey concluded. He was now holding a round, purple bomb you'd see in those old cartoons. The only extra notable thing was the hastily painted drawing on it. It resembled a set of crossed bones with a skull in the middle pretty well, but the we accidently applied too much paint at once in a few spots, so there were a few paint drips here and there.

"Uhm… Hey, Nepgear?"

"What is it?"

"How am I supposed to light the fuse?"

"Oh, don't worry. I added a feature on the E.B.B. that allows you the light the fuse remotely." I said while pressing a few buttons. "Just press this one and-"

*ssssss*

We both knew what that noise meant.

I could see Geoffrey's eyes go wide for a second. Without a second thought, he threw the bomb in the lake.

 ***bang***

Not a moment too early, the bomb detonated, exploding into a green blaze. It was a rather harmless explosion, but we did intend it being small. A few shards were still floating on the water, but the dispersed into data when Geoffrey pressed another button on the E.B.B.

- ** _"A green blaze?"_**

-" _Probably all the chemicals that were pumped into it_ _."_

"Now that we know it works, we can probably add some more H2O to increase the blast radius." Geoffrey speculated while summoning another bomb. "Anyway, it will do for now."

Without a warning, he threw a bomb at the largest nearby tree, setting its trunk on fire.

"What the goodness?" I cried in surprise. "Are you trying to cause a forest fire?"

"Of course not. I just wanted to try something. This should work." He said while pressing the 'disperse' button again.

With a single button press, the fire turned into data, leaving a half burned, weakened tree.

"Just hit it right there. We'll use it as a lil' wall to separate ourselves and there's your own little bathroom."

"Oh. I see." I said while pulling out my beam saber. "Alright then. Here I go."

After cleaning my clothes and getting ready, I walked over to the spot we left our gear.

"Are you almost done?" I asked.

"…"

No response.

"Uhm… Hellooo? Are you still there?"

 ***bang* *boom***

In the distance I could hear a series of explosions.

"H-huh?"

At the other side of the lake, a man wearing a white T-shirt was chasing a dogoo with a with a purple lumberjack shirt in its mouth. Yep. It's who you think it is.

"Get back here, you blue bonehead!" The man cried while throwing more bombs at the dogoo.

 ***Boom* Ka-blam* *Explosion noises***

Oh dear. I should probably help him.

As I picked my weapon up to help out, I accidently knocked Geoffrey's backpack over.

"Whoops."

Several bottles with pills came rolling out. Medication? A lot of the same ones at that too.

I quickly gathered all of the bottles and put them back. As I was carefully placing them all in their right spot again, I noticed something strange.

"Hm? He has two journals?" I thought to myself.

I took both of the journals out of the backpack. One of the two looked a lot more worn-out than the other, but it was obvious they were both the same.

Out of curiosity, I opened the newer-looking one on a random page. Maybe he had written down more cool custom designs like the E.B.B. he showed me.

 _Entry number 19.3_

 _Nepgear and I went shopping today. She bought an E.B.B. (Endless ball bag) for me, which we would later customise into…_

I stopped myself from reading the rest. I shouldn't be reading someone's diary like this.

Putting the new-looking one back into the bag, I opened the older looking one.

 _Entry number 16_

 _…_

 _Nepgear messed up a total of three times. After that, we managed to create the 'example bomb'._

 _…_

 _After cleaning ourselves, we returned to IF and Compa._

 _IF scolded us for running off like that, while Compa teased us about being two love birds._

 _Nepgear turned an interesting shade of red and started to deny everything, waving her hands in front of her._

 _IF seemed a little more impatient and decided that we should resume our walk to Lastation._

…

 _Entry number 17_

 _…_

 _We arrived in Lastation. We met this girl named Uni at the guild, which turned out to be the CPU candidate of Lastation. She ran off in a fit of rage after she discovered Nepgear was the CPU candidate of Planeptune. That's what Nepgear told us, anyway. I was knocked out by Underling while all of that was happening._

 _…_

"Huh? What the goodness. But… this happened just a minute ago. And IF didn't scold us… yet…"

Realising what was written on the pages, I grabbed the other journal again and compared the two.

"entries number 1 to 12 look the same in both journals." I noted. "But entry number 13 to 17 are different in the new journal. In the old journal, it says that he got to Gamindustri through an accident in entry number 13, while in the new one it describes a whole different accident. It also something about someone named 'Vince' in the new journal.

I didn't get any more time than that. I noticed Geoffrey finally got his shirt back and was heading over this way. I quickly put the journals back in the backpack. I'll have to look into this later. Or maybe I should just ask him about It right now?

"Geez. Why didn't you help me out back there?" He asked with an exhausted look.

"S-sorry. I wasn't quite ready yet. I only just got my… uhm… my hair in model." I lied.

"…Your hair?"

"You know how girls are. We can't show ourselves in public if our hair a mess."

(Please believe me, please believe me, please believe me.)

"Right… I see… You're weird one, Nepgear." He said, walking past me. "Let's go. Those two are still waiting for us, you know."

Thank goodness. He didn't notice.

* * *

"Sorry we're late." Geoffrey called over towards Compa and IF.

"Geez, what were you two thinking running off like that?" IF scolded. "What if you ran in some dangerous monster? Or worse."

Compa looked a lot less concerned. "Hehe. Iffy. When two love birds want some alone time, you should give it to them."

"…"

I was dumbfounded. This is exactly going like it was written.

Looking to my left, Geoffrey was staring at me with an expecting look. Oh. He probably expects me to deny out of embarrassment.

"H-huh? Oh! Uhm. I-it's not like that. I-I was just a little too excited to test the customised E.B.B. , that's all." I denied waving my hand in front of me once again.

"Alright, enough teasing." IF declared. "We've got to get to Lastation's mascot before Underling, remember? We've wasted enough time on whatever you two were doing."

"Well. Let's get moving then." Geoffrey added.

And with that we kept on moving to Lastation.

"So that journal really does have the future written in it." I thought. "Now I really want to know what else is written in it.

* * *

 **Entry number 21**

 **Lastation bassilicom**

 **POV: Uni**

"I'm just fine Uni." Lilith coughed. "Just… Just… It's just a cold. That's all."

Just this morning, Lilith caught a cold. Maybe she got when she fell in the water when she arrived in this dimension.

"Don't be so stubborn." I scolded. "It's only going to get worse if you push yourself. I've already asked Kei to look after you while I'm out."

"But I'm fiiiiine."

"…I'm leaving. Don't you dare get out of bed while I'm gone."

"Uniiii." She cried while I made my way out. She has already done a few quests with me and has proven herself to be quite reliable, but I can't ask her to help me if she can't even stand properly.

 **Lastation guild**

Arriving at the guild I walked up to the counter.

"Excuse me I'd like to see what quests are available." I said. A purple haired girl next to me asked the same thing simultaneously. She looked roughly around my age and wore a sailor dress.

"Hm?"

For a second we both stared at each other. Should a girl of her age really take on quests on her own?

"You're here to do quests, too?" I asked.

She was quiet for a moment. She simply looked at me as if she knew me.

"Uhm… Are you alright?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, uhm. Sorry. I was just thinking to myself." She replied. "But, uhm. Yes. That's right."

"Huh. You sure about that? I mean, you're still just a kid."

"Huh? But we're both C-, I mean… But you're a kid too."

 _-"_ _Huh this. Huh that. Try starting a sentence without 'huh' for once_ _." (seriously though, go check the original dialogue.)_

"I'm an exceptional exception." I bragged. "You have no idea how tough me and my partner can be together."

"Huh? Your partner?" The purple haired girl asked. "I don't see anyone else here, but you."

"She caught a cold this morning. So I'm going solo for today. I still need to get stronger to…"

I stopped myself. No need to drag this girl into my problems.

"To do…?"

"Uhm. Nothing. Why are you taking on quests anyway?"

* * *

 **Entry number 22**

 **Rebeat Resort**

 **POV: Uni**

Me and the purple haired girl, which introduced herself as Nepgear, decided to team up and go on several quests together. I didn't expect her to have an entire party with her, however.

"Wow. So you made a cute little friend while we were at the guild." Compa stated.

"So you weren't doing quests all on your own?" I asked. "I probably should have known, considering your age."

"Nuh-uh! I may still be young, but I'm pretty strong… Well, not that strong, but…"

"Yeah, yeah. Enough already." IF interrupted. "Don't start this self-deprecating nonsense again."

Nepgear' party consisted of two other girls and a man that looked to be around his thirties.

The brunette, IF, wore a blue coat that was a about two sizes too big for her. She sounds pretty serious.

Compa on the other hand looked far more carefree and 'cute' so to say. She has cream-pink hair and wears a wool style tank top with unattached matching sleeves.

The man, Geoffrey (I could've sworn I've heard that name before somewhere) looked kind of… odd. He always had this welcoming and warm look on his face, but his eyes were giving me the opposite impression. They were… cold. Up until now he hasn't said anything.

"In any case, we should get moving." Geoffrey said. "We've got a bunch of these quests and the sooner we're done with them, the sooner we can take a break."

"Oh, don't you worry." I reassured. "With me here, these quests will be a cinch."

"You sure think high of yourself." IF commented.

I pretended I didn't hear her and kept on walking.

After about half an hour, we had completed all the quests. It was pretty easy with the five of us. We lost Geoffrey half way through though. He walked off in another direction, for some reason. He mentioned something about 'not wanting a headache'. Whatever that means.

"There. All done." I said. "Now what did I tell you?"

"We cleared those quests so fast. You really are amazing Uni." Nepgear praised.

"You're not half bad either. Not as strong as me, but still. Not half bad."

Nepgear opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a grey-skinned girl in a mouse hoodie.

"Alright broads. Time to repay you the pain you gave me back in Planeptune."

"Huh? Where did she come from?" Nepgear said in surprise. It was then that she noticed IF and Compa on the floor. Underling must have knocked them out before hand while we weren't looking.

"IF! Compa! Oh goodness, are they alright?"

"Hey, Nepgear. Stay calm. First of all, who's that?" I asked while pointing at the grey-skinned girl.

"I think her name is Underling." She explained. "She works for ASIC as one of their low-ranked peons."

"Underling? That's a strange name."

"I told you my name is-… Gah. Screw it, It's payback time, bitches." Underling exclaimed while giving swinging her pipe from left to right.

"Stay back Nepgear. I'll handle her."

Nepgear didn't respond. She was staring at me again. As if she was expecting something to happen.

I didn't let it bother me and transformed. The look on that Underling's face was priceless.

"What the-… Another CPU? What the hell!"

Another? Eh, whatever. She probably just came from Lowee and got beat up badly by those two kids.

With Nepgear out of danger, I aimed my gun at the Underling and opened fire. Underling tried to deflect the shots with her pipe, with success. Time for a different approach.

"Block this!" I shouted while firing an explosive round.

Underling saw it coming and tried to move out of the way, but it still hit hear head on. She was still standing firm, however. For an Underling she sure is resilient.

"You'll pay for that cheap shot!" she cried while running towards me. I simply kept on firing while strafing backwards, giving her no chance to come close enough to hit me.

This went on for a minute or two, until I got tired of it.

"This is it." I cried while preparing one of my special attacks. "Venom shot."

I fired the attack directly at her. She had no chance to react whatsoever.

"Agh, damn it. That's so unfair. This has to be considered cheating or something." She complained. "Tsk. Screw you all. I'm out of here."

"Oh no you don't!"

I tried to stop her, but she ran away at a tremendous speed.

"Geez… Why didn't she run at me like that?"

I looked back at Nepgear, which was still staring at me nervously.

"You alright?" I asked. "Must be a shock to find out that I'm the CPU candidate of Lastation right."

She didn't really look shocked though. As if she knew all along.

"Uhm… Uni?" She nervously asked. "C-can I ask you something? Or rather… can we sit down for a moment and talk?"

"Huh? Sure, I guess."

Why's she so serious all of the sudden?

I transformed back to my human form and sat down next to Nepgear.

-" _Her friends her still unconscious just a few feet away from you two. You know that, right?_ _"_

 **-"** ** _You're ruining the moment. Shut up."_**

"Listen. Please, don't get angry, okay?" She pleaded.

"What are you saying? Why would I get angry?" I asked.

"Just promise me you won't angry and run away, okay?"

"Alright, alright. I promise."

She's acting really weird.

"Well, you see." She took a deep breath. The suspension sure is building up. "I'm the CPU candidate of Planeptune."

"W-what!?" I asked in shock. "You're… you're Planeptune's…"

"P-please calm down Uni. I came her for your help."

"…Why? Why are you here and not my sister!" I demanded.

"We've found a way to rescue all the CPU's including your sister!" She claimed.

"Huh? What are you saying? Are you-"

"Please, don't get angry. You promised not to get angry, right?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as well. "Well, I did promise that… and she does claim to know how to rescue my big sis." I thought.

It's hard to sit still and listen to her. It's her fault my sis didn't come back from the Gamindustri Graveyard… right?

"Alright. I'm listening." I said while calming myself. No point throwing a tantrum.

"Really?" She said with surprise. "Whew. Alright, You probably want to know what happened in the Gamindustri Graveyard three years ago, right?"

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"…"

Spying on the two CPU candidates, I got very confused.

"This isn't right. This isn't in the script. Who rewrote Nepgear's lines?" I asked myself, as if someone rewrote a scene for a movie.

"Everything has been on par just fine up until now. Gamindustri, the falling, IF and Compa's reactions, everything. Even the descriptions of everyone's character. Why is Nepgear acting so out of character? How!"

I put my hand on my chin, trying to think what could have caused this change.

"Maybe I really should have been there. In the original, I did also get knocked out and all… No, this clearly is something between Nepgear and Uni. IF and Compa were both out cold, and so was I."

I opened both journals to see if I made a mistake somewhere along the way. I had acted exactly the way it described me to.

After I couldn't find any differences, I put the 'future' journal away and resumed spying on the CPU candidates.

Uni and Nepgear got up from their spot and they both looked very satisfied with each other. If only I managed to get a little closer without being spotted. I could have probably heard what they told each other.

"Ugh. No helping it now." I said while walking towards the two.

"Heya girls. I called out. "Found some of the materials for the quests. How are you four holding up?"

 **POV: IF**

"Ugh. My head. What happened?" I mumbled to myself.

"Oww… I'm going to get a big bump on my head now." Compa whined.

I looked up and saw the rest of our party crouching down to check on us.

"Oh. You're both awake." Geoffrey smiled. "Underling managed to sneak up on you two. You'd been done for if it wasn't for Uni."

I looked at Geoffrey, Uni and Gear. Gear looked very happy. Like she just accomplished something. I haven't seen her smile like that since she got out of the graveyard. Geoffrey on the other hand looked rather dissatisfied for some reason.

"Wait? Underling's already managed to catch up?" I asked.

"It seems like it." Nepgear answered.

"I guess we got no choice then. We'll have to go see Lastation's oracle."

"Why is that a bad thing?" Uni asked.

"This nation's oracle doesn't have the best reputation. Honestly, I still don't want to go, but we're kind of running out of time here."

"Well, actually. You probably didn't know this, but I'm this nation's CPU candidate. So you don't have to worry about the oracle that much."

"Wow, are you for realzies miss Uni?" Compa asked.

"For realzies. But I'll explain it along the way alright? I mean, you are in a hurry, right?"

Uni? The CPU candidate of Lastation? Now that I look at it, she does look very similar to Noire.

"Alright then. Lead the way."

* * *

 **Entry number 23**

 **Lastation bassilicom**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

Everyone was having small talks on the way to the bassilicom. Nepgear was overjoyed that she managed to keep Uni in the party, even after telling her she's the CPU candidate of Planeptune. What I want to know is how she did it? Or why did Uni not get angry? Something must have triggered her to stay.

"I'm back." Uni called.

"Welcome back Uni." Kei greeted. "Oh. Did you bring along some friends?"

"That's right." IF said. "We're-"

"IF and Compa from Planeptune. Don't worry about the introductions. I am already well aware of who you are."

I noticed he didn't mention me… or she. He? Hard to tell with such a tomboyish sprite.

- ** _"You know that Kei is a woman, right?"_**

-" _Well, yeah. But you gotta admit, she does dress in a rather manly way._ "

"Pleased to meet you all. I am Kei Jinguji, the oracle of this nation." Kei introduced. "hmm. The man behind you, are he perhaps Geoffrey?"

"Hm? Me? How'd you know?" I asked.

"I got my ways. But there's someone you should meet. Follow me."

Uni had other plans and stepped in front of Kei.

"Whatever it is, it can wait. For now we need to know something."

"Oh? What's that?" Kei asked.

"You see, Nepgear here is the CPU candidate of Planeptune. She claims to have found a way to rescue all the CPU's from the Gamindustri Graveyard."

"What?" Kei asked in disbelief. "Nepgear. Is this true? What do you know about Noire? How is she?"

"W-well, uhm. You see, she is-"

-" _One explanation later."_

"I see. I'm glad to hear that she is still alive." Kei said with relief.

"So will you help us find Lastation's mascot or…?" Geoffrey asked.

"Naturally, I'll help in any way possible if it means Noire will safely return. But first, I'd like you all to do a small favour for me."

"You're still going through with your 'Information exchange' norm, Kei?" Uni asked.

"This isn't just any favour. Lastation has been working on this project for years and it's nearing completion. We just need two more items. A treasure gem and a good chunk of Hematite."

"What. You do know how rare those two are, right?" IF asked.

"I am well aware. But we're kind of on our last legs here, as none of our men can find either of these. It would be a great help if you could get these for me."

"Okay. We'll bring you a chunk of hematite and a treasure gem. You'll tell us where the mascot is after that, right?" Nepgear asked. She sure agreed to his request quickly… her?

"Indeed. Like I mentioned before, we don't know where to find either of these. So, I wish you all the best of luck."

Suddenly, a familiar woman walked into the room.

"Hey Kei. Thanks for the medicine you got me. I really do feel all better now."

"No problem." Kei responded. "I'm glad you're all well now."

"Oh, Uni. When did you get back?" the familiar woman asked.

"Just a few minutes ago. Looks like you're all better now."

Uni looked at the rest of the party for a second, then back at the woman. "Oh. I should probably introduce you all. This is Lilith. She helped me out several quests and helped me get stronger."

"Hey y'all nice to meet y-…. You…."

She stuttered a bit when she saw me.

For a moment everyone was quiet. We stared into each other's eyes. Her deep blue eyes. They never changed.

"Looks like I've found the anomaly." I thought to myself.

I finally spoke up after a few seconds of awkward silence. "Nice to meet you, Lilith. This is Nepgear, IF and Compa. My name is Geoffrey. Hope we can get along."

"Likewise." She responded in a stern tone.

* * *

 **And with that, we've got one of the most important chapters out of the way. Looking back, I'm a little afraid I may have thrown too many things in the mix at once. But I've tried to make it all as clear and easy to read as possible.**

 **If you're having trouble keeping up, let me know and I'll make sure to explain it a little better by either messaging you or by editing the chapter.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys are looking forward to the next chapter as much as I am, because next chapter will have Uni and Lilith in the party with the main cast. Change is good, right?**

 **Also, one last thing. The upcoming chapters may or may not take a little more time to write. I'll probably start releasing them once every week or so at some point. Just so you know.**

 **-Porpol**


	6. Chapter 5: En Garde

**Hey everyone. Glad you're enjoying the story so far. If you're not… What are you even still doing here?**

 **Anyway, this chapter did take a little longer than the others. Reason for it? I rewrote the entire thing once (nearly twice). I just wasn't happy with how the characters interacted. It was just boring or unnatural. Is it still like that? I don't think so. I've tried pretty hard to stay true to the characters persona, but in the end, it's the reader that has to judge this. Feel free to let me know what you think, so I can improve on it in later chapters.**

 **Anyway, with that out of the way, get ready for:**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: En garde**

 **Entry number 24.1**

 **Somewhere between Planeptune and Lastation (ocean)**

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

"Don't you think the ocean is just beautiful, honey?"

"Don't call me that, Lily."

"D'aww. You used my cute nickname again. Maybe I'll start calling you hon instead of honey."

"There's nothing cute about it."

Uni, who was sitting at the same table could only look at the fight unfolding. "What's with those two?"

Earlier today, the group decided to split up to try and find both items faster. By chance, they met a traveller named Falcom, which told them to check Virtua forest near Planeptune for a treasure gem. Uni suggested they should go by boat rather than by foot, as it was faster and less exhausting. It would take several days to get from one nation to the other by foot, which would just be a waste of time. Both Lastation and Planeptune's bassilicom have private traveling ferries, so it doesn't cost anything either. Some say that to this day you can still hear Geoffrey's scream of anger about traveling by foot echo through the skies if you listened just close enough. After the group was divided, they all took off, However, it probably would have been wiser if they had divided the party differently.

"-And if I had a gun, with two bullets and I were in a room with you, Vince and David, I'd shoot you twice." Geoffrey angrily yelled.

"Oh, I am very certain you did not think of that one yourself. I find it very immature of you that you resort to violence and killing once you simply dislike someone." Lilith argued back.

"Oh, stop pointing fingers. It's already bad enough that you went around pointing guns at me."

"Maybe if you weren't such an ass, I wouldn't hate you so much. Remember the family Christmas dinner of 2027?"

This went on for pretty much the entire boat trip. Uni was already aware of the fact that Geoffrey and Lilith are an ex-couple and that they hate each other, but they're just straight up going at each other's neck right now. She had tried to stop twice now, but they just wouldn't listen. Aren't they supposed to be adults?

"Alright, that's enough of you two." Uni interrupted. This time, she seemed to have gained both of their attentions.

"Just look at yourselves right. You're adults, for crying out loud. Stop acting like little kids already."

"She/He started it." Both of them said while pointing at each other.

"And that's exactly what I mean. Ugh. Alright. Enough of this. I'm going inside and when I come back I want you two to apologize to each other, okay?"

Neither of them responded. They just scoffed and turned their heads away from each other.

Uni got up from her place and walked inside. Before turning the corner, she looked back at the two for a moment. "I just want a break from those two." She thought to herself. "They're giving me a serious headache."

"…"

"…"

Silence. Neither of them wanted to speak to the other.

"…"

"…"

A few more minutes passed.

"…"

"…"

And even more minutes passed.

"…"

"…"

And more… until

"…"

"…"

Until even more minutes of silence passed.

 **POV: Lilith**

"Ugh. Why did she have to leave? Do I really have to deal with this douche right now?" I thought to myself. "Well… He's been sitting there doing nothing. Just like me right now. Maybe I should ask him…"

"So…" I finally spoke up.

"Hm?" Geoffrey 'hm'd' while turning towards Lilith, staring right at her with his cold eyes.

"So… how was Planeptune?" I asked.

"… Eh, it was… Kinda okay. I guess." He responded. "How was your stay at Lastation?"

"Could've been better."

"…"

"…"

"Have you seen this weird fizzy drink they got?" Geoffrey asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Here, check this out."

He took a familiar looking can out of his bag. The label read… Nepsi?

"Wait, but this is just…that's dumb"

"Yeah, I know right." Geoffrey agreed.

"They just replaced the 'P' with an 'N'. I bet it even tastes the same."

"Probably. Wanna try it anyway?"

"… I don't see why not."

After opening the can, I took a sip from the so called 'Nepsi'...

"Hmrph!?"

"Something wrong?"

A horrible taste. Without warning, I spat out all of the Nepsi. Unfortunate for Geoffrey, he was sitting straight ahead of me.

"Oh, you did that on purpose."

"Why wouldn't I spit this out on purpose? It tastes like… like…"

I could only shiver at the thought of what it tasted like. God, the after taste is awful.

"You are going to apologize to me, right now, or I'll blast you into tiny bits!" Geoffrey slammed his hands on the table in anger.

"Me? You are the one that gave me this deadly concoction. I am the victim here." I countered.

"You know what, screw you." Geoffrey yelled while getting up from his seat. He took a few steps back and threw a bomb at me. I managed to get up and dash out of the way before it exploded, but that could've been pretty bad.

"What the actual fuck, Geoff. You wanna go?" I warned while drawing both my rapier and gun.

"Oh, so Ms. has-it-all knows how to dual wield. How original." He taunted.

"Grr…. En garde!"

"I know you're from France and all, but that doesn't mean you-"

I didn't feel like letting him finish his snarky comment so I opened fire on him.

"Eep." He cried.

Seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out one of his journals to shield himself from my bullets.

I used this opportunity to dash in to try and get few good swings at him, forcing him to go defensive.

"Stop blocking!"

"Never!"

I couldn't get any hits in. That journal really is sturdy. He's blocking all of my stabs and swipes perfectly. Suddenly, he kicked me in the stomach, knocking me back. "Incoming!" he warned while throwing a total of four bombs at me. It would've been a direct hit, if it wasn't for my trump card.

 ***Ka-boom***

"Heh. Blown to bits. Now…err… what do I tell Uni?" I heard him wonder. I was still covered by smoke, he couldn't see me and he didn't know I was still alive. I can either ambush him now or I can do a cliché one-liner and look cool.

"Oi. I'm still alive you know." I said while the smoke was starting to disappear. 'One-liner and look cool' it was. Completely worth it.

"… How the actual hell did you survive four explosions!" Geoffrey had a shocked expression. I should do this more often.

"I used one of my special moves. I like to call it 'Riposte'. A move that negates all damage and destroys all projectiles hit by my blade. I just gotta time it perfectly." I explained. "What, didn't you know? Apparently everyone in this wicked dimension can learn special moves."

"Tsk. I am well aware." He snarled. "I suppose I'll just use one of mine too then."

"Yours?"

"Take this!" Geoffrey pulled out a flask with a blue liquid in it out of seemingly nowhere. Just where is he keeping all that stuff? Whatever he's doing, I should get ready for another Riposte.

He threw the flask upwards and held his journal like a baseball bat. When the flask came down, he swung his journal at it, sending the flask flying towards me at a tremendous speed. I didn't have any time to react.

 ***Splash***

The flask hit me dead centre. The impact it self wasn't really that bad, but whatever this blue stuff is, it's starting to bite. And… I think I'm starting to feel light headed.

"And it's a homerun!" Geoffrey celebrated.

"Ugh. W-what is this stuff?"

"Just a little paralysis potion I made beforehand. Heck, I got like infinite more of those things. Thanks to this little pouch here." He explained while tapping his mechanical looking pouch.

"Grr…" I can probably still fire a few bullets at him or… wait… The paralysis already wore off… I always knew he sucked at his (not really). Maybe if I just pretend…

As was standing frozen in my spot, He started walking over to me. "I was expecting a little more out of you, Lily. You barely held on for three minutes."

Just a little closer…

"Oh well. Time to say good night." Geoffrey raised his journal above his head with both hands, ready to give the final blow. He's wide open.

"Now!"

"H-huh!?"

Before he knew it, I got a horizontal swipe off on him, cutting him badly in the stomach. He stumbled backwards before falling over.

"O-.. Oh dear. Looks… looks like you got me."

I moved over and pointed my blade at his throat. "Submit." I demanded.

"I wouldn't consider yourself won yet, dear." He taunted while gesturing for me look behind me. Stupid enough, I fell for the bait and looked behind me only to find out there's nothing there.

"Wide open."

As I turned back, a bomb exploded right in my face.

"Agh. My eyes. You di-!"

"Keep the rating at T, Lily."

"You… you dinosaur."

"That's what I thought."

* * *

 **POV: Uni**

It had been about fifteen minutes since I left those two. I should probably go check on them. Let's hope they haven't burned the whole ferry down.

I opened the door, only to be graced with a bomb heading straight my way.

"H-hey!" I yelled in surprise while ducking under it.

Looking up again, I could see the ex-couple trying to kill each other. Geoffrey was throwing bombs and vials at Lilith while she was poking them out of the air with her Riposte move.

"Stop using that broke special move!"

"Never!"

Lilith then took aim at Geoffrey and opened fire. Her target swiftly ran to the side and took cover behind a table.

"Take this. Misérable combo!" Lilith cried, throwing her blade at Geoffrey as he was getting out of cover, getting it stuck in his shoulder. She proceeded to slowly walk towards him while unloading a barrage of bullet. After reaching him, she kicked him back, pulling her blade out.

"And stay dead." She smirked.

However, Geoffrey got right back up. He looked hurt, but still ready to fight.

"My turn." He said while taking a bomb out of seemingly nowhere. "Haaaaaaa!" He yelled. The bomb was slowly getting bigger… and bigger… and… Oh, god that thing is going to destroy the entire ship if he throws it. "Here it comes!" He cried before throwing it straight into the air.

When the bomb was at its highest point, I quickly launched one of my special attacks at it resulting in it exploding mid-air.

"Ex Multi buster!"

With the bomb out of the way, the both looked to where I was standing.

"Oh come on." Geoffrey complained. "It was totally my turn to hit her, why'd you interfere."

"That thing would've destroyed the entire ship, you dunce." I scolded. "Why are you two fighting anyway?"

"He/She started it." They both blamed at the same time while pointing at each other.

"…"

These two are never going to get along again, are they?

After we got the treasure gem with minor trouble (I think we met Underling at one point, but she must've ran off after a few 'warning shots' from Geoffrey) we immediately headed back to the ferry and made our way back to Lastation.

Once again, the three of us were sitting at a table and two of us were arguing. Yep. You guessed it. I still can't believe they almost killed each other over a can of Nepsi.

"-And that's why I think you should just shut up right now." Lilith argued.

"Like hell I'd listen to you. You could've killed me back then if it wasn't for this silver armlet I bought with Nepgear."

"Oh, so that's how it is. You're seeing her now, huh? Is that why you divorced in the first place?"

"W-what? That's ridiculous. As if I'd know I would meet a goddess in another dimension."

Both of them went silent after that last comment. Lilith turned her head and looked at the setting sun in the distance.

"…You knew." Lilith accused.

"Huh?" Geoffrey said with a confused look.

The atmosphere took a whole 180 turn. Both of them were… serious?

"…Uni, dear. Can you leave the two of us alone for a second?" Lilith requested. "Don't worry. We won't spill any blood this time."

"If you say so. But I'll be checking on you two every five minutes."

 **POV: Lilith**

With that, Uni went inside leaving us alone once more . Let's hope he doesn't starting bombing me again.

"What are you getting at here?" Geoffrey asked.

"I had a little sneak peak of that future journal of yours… It's… Well, I didn't leave you because I liked someone else better. I left because of what you could've become."

Geoffrey was silent. Before this, he never knew the reason I left him. He clearly wasn't ready for this talk.

"How much did you read?" He asked.

"Not that much. Only that you were supposed to go to Gamindustri in Entry number 13 instead of a year later. Also the… well, the end…"

Geoffrey was silent. He turned his head away from me in shame.

"Why did you go to Gamindustri, hon?" I asked. "You've seen the outcome and you know it isn't going to be a happy ending. So why did you go anyway?"

"Nine…"

"Huh?"

Geoffrey turned back to me, looking me deep in the eyes.

"Nine years." He started. "Nine years until everything I've worked on disappears. Nine more years until my one chance of finishing my life long work is gone for good. Nine more years until I..."

He paused to take a sip of his can with Nepsi. He immediately spat it out over the edge of the ship.

"Pah. This can of Nepsi is gonna kill me before I can even out live those nine years. Yuck…. Uhm, anyway."

After disposing of the can (A.K.A. throwing it overboard), he continued.

"Tell me, what would you do if you had one chance to change everything?" He asked. "One shot to change fate. Would you take it?"

I took a moment to think. Clearly, he's thought about this for a long time. Probably the one year between the accident and the dimension trip. "So I suppose you decided to take that chance?" I responded with a question.

"It doesn't have to end the same way it ended last time. I've read every entry of that journal, word for word. Letter for letter. I'm trying my best to change what's supposed to happen, but…"

"But the difference between the you from the future and the you here is that you only have nine more years while the other you had an actual life time left?"

"Well, basically, yes." He confirmed. "Heh. Looking back, future me really was a di-… A dinosaur, don't you think."

"You're trying too hard." I laughed while leaning forward, resting my arms on the table. "But yes. Other you was kind of a prick with how he ended his journey. Does that mean you want to change the outcome completely?"

Geoffrey took a moment to think of an answer. "Well. You know what they say about stories. They all end."

"Not what I asked, but true… Say, are you not forgetting something else about stories?"

I can just feel a one-liner coming.

"What's that?"

I smiled and put my hand on his while looking in his lifeless eyes. "They begin. And maybe you should start over. Find another way to begin. Find another way to end. Tell me, what did other you do to become one of those goddesses?"

His eyes widened at my remark. Something… lively, sparked into his eyes for a second. It had been a year since I've seen those eyes again. "W-well," he began to explain. "I don't know. When I took the journal from Vince, he had already torn out some of the important pages beforehand. Including that part."

He reached for his pocket, pulling out a familiar purple gem. "The only thing I know is that it has something to do with this CPU memory."

"So how do you plan on finding out? What are you going to do about it?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I did get some info on how I found out. In about four years, me and the CPU of Planeptune meet this strange lady. She'll send us to another dimension and supposedly that's where I'll find out."

"And what if you don't?" I asked. "There's already plenty of change in the present, so chances are you won't get to go with Planeptune's CPU to that dimension."

"I've already looked it over." He replied. "As long as we defeat the Deity of Sin and don't change anything that is supposed to happen in those three years after, I should be fine."

We both grew silent. I guess this is a kind of a 'we made up' thing. But not really? I can't really tell. I just hope he doesn't end up following the ending of the future journal.

Neither of us had noticed that the lone black haired CPU candidate had been listening in on the entire conversation.

* * *

 **Entry number 24.2**

 **Septent Resort**

 **POV: Compa**

Thanks to some nice men of the Lastation patrol, we now know where to find the Hematite. They told us they saw a chunk of it in this very dungeon. In fact, we just beat some bad monsters and they gave us a piece of Hematite.

"Is this the Hematite? Yippee." I celebrated. "Now we can go back to Miss Kei and ask her about the mascot."

"As long as those other three managed to managed to find a treasure gem, she should tell us." Iffy said. "Let's just hope they didn't get beaten by the monsters or we'll be traveling with only half of our party from this point on."

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Uni is with them, after all." Ge-ge cheerfully added.

Before we left the dungeon, I saw someone small laying on the ground unconscious. A mouse?

"Hm? Hey everyone, what's that?" I asked while pointing at the mouse on the floor.

"Yuck. An oversized rat, that's what it is. Don't touch it, Compa. Probably has all kinds of disease on it." Iffy advised.

I ignored her advice and knelt down to the mouse. Hmm… "I can't leave such a poor thing alone. Hang on Mister Mouse. Nurse Compa on the rescue."

After a few minutes Mister Mouse woke up. "Ch-chu?"

"How do you feel Mister Mouse?"

Mister Mouse let out a yell when I looked at me. He was turning a strange tint of red. I wonder if I used too much detoxin.

"U-uhm. What's your name, Chu?" Mister Mouse asked.

"My name? Why, it's Compa." I smiled at Mister Mouse. He's looking kind of cute. I wonder if Iffy will let me keep him as a pet.

"Compa… Compa… Hmm? Mmmm, Chu." I am not very sure what Mister Mouse was doing at this point, but he ran off when he was done.

"Aww. Mister Mouse ran off."

* * *

 **Entry number 25**

 **Spentent Resort**

 **POV: Nepgear**

The next day after we regrouped, we gave the oracle the materials she requested and she gave us the last known location of the mascot. Strange… It's in the same dungeon we found the chunk of Hematite. How did we miss it?

"Hey everyone. Look." I called. "This area looks similar to the area in which we found Planeptune's mascot. I think it might be somewhere around here."

"Is it perhaps that glowing disc that's just levitating in the air?" Lilith asked while pointing at the mascot."

"Yep. That looks like Mister or Misses mascot." Compa answered.

"Uhm. Excuse me?" I asked. "Are you perhaps Lastation's mascot?"

"Hm? Planeptune's CPU?... No. You must be the CPU candidate." The mascot said. "Why do you seek of my assistance?"

"Well, you see. We kind of need you to come with us to save the CPU's. They've been captured and… well, we want to free them."

"I see… I had sensed a disturbance, but to hear that all four CPU's have been captured is quite a shock."

I'm not sure, but I think there's something strange happening behind my back. As if a small creature is spinning like a top while bumping into all kinds of things.

"Does that mean you'll help us save them?" I happily asked.

"Unfortunally, I cannot aid you. With Lastation's CPU gone, it would mean I have to remain in my position. It would go against the orders of the true goddess."

"But-."

"Nepgear, what are you doing?" Uni asked, interrupting my conversation with the mascot. "We've got a little rat that's trying to attack the mascot."

I looked behind me to see the mouse Compa had taken care of yesterday. He was holding a strange glowing disc this time. "Chuuuu!" The mouse cried while summoning about eight different monsters out of the disc.

"What the goodness. Where did these enemies come from?"

"But you just saw them come out of the-… Ugh, never mind." Uni said while taking aim at the monsters. "Get ready. This isn't going to be an easy fight."

"R-right." I confirmed.

"Give up, Chu. It's nine on six." The mouse boasted.

"Really?" Lilith asked. "Are you sure? Because to me it looks like it's eight on six."

"What are you babbling about, Chu?".

Before answering, Lilith shot the only Dogoo several times, executing it. "That's what I'm talking about."

"You always had a thing for stupid one-liners." Geoffrey bluntly stated.

"That's a weird way to tell me you love my one-liners." She smirked.

"Enough of you two." IF interrupted. "I'll take the rat. Cover my back, alright?"

 **POV: IF**

The other monster weren't as weak as that one Dogoo Lilith took down. There were Fish Zombies, King Box Birds and even a Fenrir in the mix. I'm mostly worried about the rat though. Either he's one of those types that can't fight and has to rely on others to fight for him or he's one of those guys that's considering them self too strong to fight, so he'd let others fight for them.

"Don't you dare come between me and my sweet angelic Compa. I'll blow you away!" The rat cried.

The rat put the disc away (somewhere) and took a fighting pose.

"Alright then. Here we go." I said while pulling out my Qatar.

I dashed forward to close the distance between us and the rat did the same. When we were about to clash, the rat slid between my legs and ended up behind me.

"What the-"

Without a warning, the rat hit me with a powerful wind spell, tossing me a few feet in the air. "Chuuu!"

I wasn't planning on just falling like that. I recovered mid-air and managed to land on my feet. "Not bad, rat. But it's my turn now." I started to charge one of my special attacks. He won't get out of this one.

"Demon flame!"

A pillar of fire engulfed the rat. To my surprise, he managed to jump out of it before it was over and was heading right my way again. "That ain't gonna work, Chu." The rat jumped at me in an attempt to tackle me. It was an obvious attack and easy to counter. I slashed the rat, breaking its momentum and trapping him in a combo.

"Nice try, rat." I taunted while ending my combo with an upward slash, knocking the rat back a few feet. "Ow!" The rat cried. "Then how about this instead, Chu."

Once again the rat was charging at me. Another tackle? He'd really stupid if he thinks he'd get through me this time.

"Now!" the rat cried while getting on all four. He managed to zig zag around me with a surprising amount of speed.

"W-what?"

Before I could react, it tackled me right in my back, knocking me over.

"Nothing beats the power of true love, Chu." It taunted.

I slowly got up and faced the rat. Dang. For a rat he sure is tough.

"Ready for round two?" I asked.

"It'll be over before it'll start, Chu."

"Slash wave!" Nepgear cried a few feet from where we were standing.

"…Chu?"

The rat looked to his right, seeing Nepgear's slash wave heading straight for him after taking down two other monsters. "C-chu!?"

 ***Slash***

The wave made contact with the rat, knocking it out cold. It really was over before it started.

"Geez. I had him right where I wanted him to be." I complained. "Why did you do that?"

"Oh. I-I'm sorry IF." Nepgear apologized. "I just wanted to take care of those two other monsters, but I didn't know he was behind them so…"

"Don't get so defensive." I assured. "In the end, we beat the thing. And that's what counts."

"R-right… But I can't help but feel bad for interrupting your epic fight scene."

"It wasn't that epic though." I thought.

I took a look at the last few monsters that were left over. Compa was just finishing off one of the King Box birds by injecting it with whatever she kept in her syringe and Geoffrey and Lilith were both about to finish off the Fenrir with supporting fire from Uni. Seems like those three have sort of become a team.

"I- I won't forget this, chu!" the mouse suddenly cried. "I'll be back for my sweet angelic Compa and for the mascot. Just you broads wait." I thought the thing was out cold. Guess not.

It then proceeded to run off on all four at full speed. ASIC's pawns are only good at one thing. running away.

"Was that one of the creatures that plagues Gamindustri?" The mascot asked.

"Yeah." I confirmed. "And now it knows where you are, so it's very likely it's going to come back with more of those monsters."

"I see… Perhaps it is best if I hide myself for the time being."

"You could come with us." Nepgear suggested. "We can keep you safe and you can help us."

"As I've said before, I cannot break the promise I have made with the true goddess. I can't come with you."

"May I ask something?" Geoffrey asked while walking towards us with the rest of the party behind him. "We only need the mascot's aid, right? Maybe it can give us some of its strength like Planeptune's mascot did."

"That's not a bad idea." I complimented. "Alright then. Can you do that for us?"

"I suppose I can. Very well then. CPU candidate of Planeptune. Take my strength as substitution."

A small light ball came out of the mascot's body, forming a black disc.

"Is this...?" Nepgear reached out to grab the disc and put it in her inventory.

"Yes. But I must go now. I have matters to attend to. I wish you safe travels, everyone. Good luck."

* * *

 **Undocumented entry**

 **Lastation CPU hotel – Nepgear and Uni's room**

 **POV: Nepgear**

We decided to wait a little longer before traveling to the next nation. We hadn't decided on which nation we wanted to go next and it was getting pretty late. Everyone must've been tired from the battle today, so we decided to head over to Lastation's CPU hotel. A CPU hotel is a place where CPU's can rest for the night when they are visiting other nations. Of course, they also allow other party members to rest here as well, as long as they are accompanied by a CPU.

"So where do we head next?" Uni asked.

I shared my room with Uni. She said something among the lines of "I guess I'll share my room with you. But that doesn't mean I like you or anything", but I didn't really notice, because I was overjoyed to share my room with one of my new friends. Compa and IF took another room for themselves and Lilith and Geoffrey also shared a room. Uni was against it at first for some reason, but she didn't push it too hard.

Our room has black floor tiles and grey walls with two separate beds with black bed sheets. There's a round table with two chairs in the corner and a small wooden dresser in another corner. On top of the dresser is a modern flat-screen TV.

"To be honest, I don't really know. I think we should visit Lowee next, because Leanbox doesn't have CPU candidate."

"You want to recruit the CPU candidates of Lowee?"

"Huh? Plural? Lowee has two CPU candidates?" I asked.

"Yeah. Twins, actually." She replied while dressing herself for bed. "They're both pretty young too. It might be hard to talk in on them."

"You think they would want to join us?"

"I don't think they will, really. In fact, I feel like we should head over to Leanbox first. It has the most trouble dealing with ASIC since there's no CPU candidate present."

I took a moment to think about where to go next while getting changed. Sure, Leanbox has more trouble with ASIC, but that doesn't mean Lowee doesn't need our help. Hmm… What if…

"Hey Uni?"

"Yeah?" Uni responded while getting in her bed.

"Remember what I told you, back in Rebeat Resort?"

"You mean back on our first quest? What about it?"

I tried to make the most serious face I could make and looked Uni right into her eyes.

 ** _Entry Number 22 (flashback)_**

 ** _Rebeat Resort_**

 ** _POV: Nepgear (originally Geoffrey's POV)_**

 _Uni sat down next to me. I'll have to be careful, or she might still run away. Up until now, everything that the journal has predicted has happened. But I don't want it to be like this. I can still change it, right?_

 _"I'm listening." Uni said. "This better not be a waste of my time."_

 _I was just done with my story about what happened three years ago in the Gamindustri Graveyard. Uni was relieved to hear that her sister was still alive. I also explained her that we're on a quest to gain the aid of all the mascots of all four nations. Up until now she had been listening to every word I said without interrupting me._

 _"I see. And you want me to come along to help your party?"_

 _"That's right. Will you? Oh, please come with us. We probably can't do it without you." I said._

 _"Geez, that's an overstatement." She bluntly replied. "But I suppose you are right. I mean, your party is practically lost without my superior strength."_

 _"Wait, you'll join us? For realises?" I said, clapping my hand together in joy._

 _"Well, alright then. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to your hopeless party." Uni answered with pride._

 _"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you." I happily thanked._

 _"There's one thing I'd like to know though."_

 _"Huh? What's that?"_

 _"How did you know I was about to get angry with you? You've never met me before and you said it like you knew me."_

 _"Oh… Well… You see…"_

"Remember when I told you about the future journal Geoffrey has?" I asked.

"Oh. Uhm, yeah. I've heard him talk about it with Lilith when we were on our way to Planeptune. They mentioned all kinds of strange things like 'becoming a goddess' and a 'bad ending'. What about it?"

I walked over to Uni's bed and sat down. "Well… It probably has the exact details on how to rescue our sisters, right?"

"Wait. Please don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

"Well… I was thinking… Let's go sneak into their room and copy the journal."

* * *

 **And yet another chapter comes to a close.**

 **I had a pretty rough time writing those fight scenes. I rewrote the first one several times. Am I happy with how they turned out? They're not amazing, but not downright terrible either. Probably something I should work on.**

 **I am happy with how most of the character interactions turned out though. I feel like it's pretty natural and decently well described. Let me know what you think.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Until next time.**

 **-Porpol**


	7. Chapter 6: The Butterfly Effect

**Hey everyone. Ready for a slightly shorter chapter? Because this is a slightly shorter chapter… That's why I asked if you were ready for… never mind.**

 **Anyway, I got nothing else. So here you go:**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: The butterfly effect**

 **Undocumented entry**

 **Lastation CPU hotel**

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

"How'd I let myself get talked into this?" Uni asked herself.

The both of them were standing before Geoffrey and Lilith's room. Nepgear was peeking through the key hole to see if either of them were inside or if they already went to sleep. Uni was standing guard, looking out in case anyone would walk by.

"W-well… We'll be out b-before anyone notices… r-right?" Nepgear looked even more nervous than Uni. Even if it was her idea, she never was one to be too confident about risky things. "Alright. I don't see any light. I think it's safe to go in."

Nepgear slowly pushed the door open. The both of them did find it strange that the door was unlocked, but neither of them were going to complain about it.

The room was just as big as their own room and looked exactly the same with the addition of a balcony. The only difference was that instead of two beds there was only a king size bed. This room was probably meant for the CPU to stay.

"I don't see anyone he-" Nepgear was interrupted by heavy laughter of a couple. An ex-couple to be precise. She immediately froze up and searched the room for the source. She could see the two of them sitting on the balcony with several cans of Nepsi on the table beside them. They we were looking up at the clear starry sky.

"Not gonna lie, this stuff does taste a lot better after the third can." Lilith laughed.

"We should buy more cans before we head to Lowee tomorrow." Geoffrey suggested. "Nothing beats a cold drink with ice, right?"

"Won't it be too cold in Lowee for that?"

"Not at all. Where else am I going to get the ice from?" He joked.

The both of burst into laughter once more. Neither CPU candidate understood why they were laughing at such a bad joke, but this was the perfect chance to 'borrow' the journal.

Fortunately, the backpack with said journal was right next to the door on table.

Nepgear took her chance, grabbed the backpack and closed the door behind her.

"I-I got it." Her hands were trembling and she was sweating like crazy.

"You look a bit pale." Uni stated.

"What? I'm fine. Really, I'm fine."

Uni raised an eye brow. "If you say so. Oh look. Hey Lilith. How's it going?" She lied.

Nepgear's face turned completely pale with cold sweat droppings on her forehead. She quickly turned around to see if Lilith really was there.

"H-huh? What? Geez, Don't scare me like that."

 **POV: Nepgear**

We returned to our room to begin the copying process. We took both journals, so we wouldn't accidently take the wrong one.

"Alright. I'll booth up the N-gear's copy program. We'll have the entire journal copied in no time."

Uni took the other normal journal and started reading a few entries. "Huh? Geoffrey is only 22? You don't say… And Lilith… What's this thing they call 'French'?"

"Huh? Hey, Uni. You're invading his privacy, put that down." I tried to take the journal from her, but she held it just out of my grasp.

"You're the one that's copying his entire diary of the future and I am invading his privacy? If we've already gotten this far, we might as well go all the way, right?" A bit out of character, but she wasn't wrong. The N-gear was already 10% done with its copying process. I guess it wouldn't really matter anymore if we checked both journals.

"Oww… You're making me feel guilty for doing this. Maybe we shouldn't…"

"Don't think about it too much, alright. We're doing this to save our sisters, remember?"

"R-right."

Uni resumed to scan the journal. "Hmm… Entry number 4: The Wolf. Up until now, none of the entries were given a title."

I looked over Uni's shoulder to see what she was talking about. "What makes this one so special?"

"I dunno. But let's read."

* * *

 _Entry Number 4: The Wolf_

 _29/12/2026_

 _Today was a snowy day. I hate snow._

 _Something strange happened today. I met someone at work who recently was employed by the company as janitor. He talked to me as if he knew me. He introduced himself as_ _Vince Wolf_ _. He looks to be around his 19's. a little younger than me._

 _When no one else was around he told me was from the future. First thing I asked was if he hit his head on the way in or something, but then he started to make these weird specific predictions. Like this thing about my journal. That I would write entry number five with a blue pen with black ink, that I would write entry number 6 with a pencil, that kind of stuff. I laughed and walked off. We'll see about that._

 _Entry number 8_

 _2/1/2027_

 _All of his predictions came true. Vince is someone to keep an eye on._

 _Entry number 13: Blackout battle_

 _9/1/2027_

 _Today I was assigned with a dangerous experiment. I'm supposed to use a Ion-scanner, but they only have those in the Biolabs in the basement (out of all places). At least the biolab staff doesn't go to work before 13:00 , so there won't be any lines at the sample fridge. Joy._

 _The Biolab isn't the prettiest place in the building. There's all kinds of glass containers with dead animals and body parts for experimenting. They were dead long before they were put in that container, but that doesn't make it any prettier._

 _I also took the stone with me Lilith got me. I can probably go and scan it right now._

 _I put the stone in the scanner and hit start. It shouldn't take long. I turned around and was faced with a familiar face. Vince Wolf._

* * *

 **9/1/2027**

 **T.O.W. basement: Biolab – 10 : 30**

 **Entry number 13: Blackout**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

I turned around and saw Vince. "Vince? What are you doing here."

Vince looked nervous. His hands were trembling and there were sweat drops on his forehead.

"I-… I'm here to complete my assignment." He stuttered.

"Your assignment?" He reached in his pocket and pulled out a gun. I hope this doesn't become a thing.

"I'm… I'm here to stop you from scanning that stone. To stop you… From going to Gamindustri."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy now, Vince." I tried to convince him. "Just put down the gun, okay. No need for this."

"… My boss.… Has asked me to kill you right here and right now." Oh right. Time travel. You don't go back in time and tell a random person on the street about it if you don't have a reason for it.

Vince's hand was still trembling. His aim wasn't very steady. I could easily overpower him if I just played my cards right.

"Mister Geoffrey, what is this place?" He asked nervously. "I think I'm about t-t-to… b-barf…"

… Is that why he's so nervous? Not because he's about to kill a man but because there's dead animals and severed limbs in jars around him? Also, why'd he call me 'mister'?... Might as well use it to my advantage.

"Hm? What are you talking about Vince? Nothing strange here." I lied. "You know what we do with these things, right?"

"W-what?" He asked while slowly lowering the gun. He looks absolutely terrified. Usually the one with the gun is the intimidating one.

"These animals were bred for science." I lied. "Everything you see here was made so it could sit in a glass container. For science." Yeah, as if anyone would take their time to breed animals to put them in jars.

"What? T-that's… disgusting!"

"It's the truth." I took a step back. Maybe I could make a run for the elevator while he's busy worrying about those little things. He really must've looked up to future me if he goes in such a mental breakdown because of such a white lie.

"No… No!" He repeated. "I refuse to believe it!" He once again aimed his gun at me. By now I had gained enough distance to duck behind cover.

He fired his gun several times, hitting the scanner with the Purple gem in it and a power box on the wall behind it. For a moment everything went dark. Then the emergency red lights went on. Looks like he's completely lost it.

"S-stand still!" He cried while reloading. I took this time to change cover. I was now behind one of the sample trays. These will have to do. "Hey Vince. Smell the roses!" I cried while throwing a vial with an acid. What acid? No idea, but I know for a fact it has some toxic damps.

I ducked behind cover once more and could hear Vince coughing. Guess I hit him. I took a few vials with me and moved to the next desk.

"What the-.. ugh… I'm… I'm not feeling so well." I took a peek from under the desk, only to be met with more gun fire. I was half across the room by now, but his aim isn't something to be trifled with. After a few shots, he managed to break some glass containers and vials with samples. Crap, gotta move again. It's always a bad idea to stick around unknown samples.

I took cover behind a desk near the elevator. C'mon. Hurry up. Open the door!

"Oh no you don't!" Vince shot a gas canister next to the elevator several times.

"What are you doing!?" I jumped for cover just in time before the explosion. No one's going to be able to leave this room through that way. The gas explosion had caused a fire. At this rate, this place is gonna burn down and collapse right on our heads before any of us can leave.

"If I can't make it out alive, then neither will you." Vince taunted with a wicked smile.

"As if Lily wasn't bad enough with her stupid one liners." He acts like he's about to die. He really can't take sight of dead animals if he thinks he's about to die because of them.

The fire alarms went off and the emergency fire exit on the other side of the room unlocked. Someone should call the police, because these emergency exits are placed very poor spots... Why can we only get to the basement through an elevator or a fire exit anyway?

Vince took a couple more shots at the desk I was hiding behind. I threw more poisonous vials at the madman, but it was just impossible to hit him from where I was hiding. And the room is starting to smell weird. I should probably stop adding random samples to the fire.

"Know what? I'll just leave you here. Hope you die in a fire."

Vince opened the fire exit and took a chair with him. Like a chair would hold the exit. But I don't want to risk it either way.

I grabbed one of the office chairs pushed it across the room. It was rolling at full speed towards Vince. "Oomph!"

"Direct hit."

I ran over to Vince and held him on the floor. "Alright. You're gonna tell me everything about the future, right now."

"J-journal. In my pocket."

"What?" I checked Vince's jacket. Strange enough, he had a journal that was exactly the same as mine, only in this one was filled with entries I still had to write. So that's how he knew.

"Why'd you try to kill me?" I asked. Vince couldn't response. The scanner with the purple gem in it was making loud static noises. It probably is malfunctioning because Vince shot it earlier.

"Uh-oh." Out of instinct, I took Vince and held him before me like a shield. We were still on the floor, so I should be fine, right?

…

No explosion yet.

…

Still no boom. I peeked from behind Vince only to be greeted with a blinding flash. Ah… that's gonna have a permanent effect.

* * *

 _..._

 _After the explosion, I wondered why I didn't just make a run for the stairs. We were right next to them after all. I took the gem out of the broken scanner and left the basement through the fire exit. I think I came in contact with several bio-samples. I just hope none of them were deadly. I've also taken the time to read the 'future journal'. I do not like where this is going._

 _Also, side not, Vince died because of the explosion. So far his body has not been found, because the entire basement collapsed. I'm amazed the main building is still standing. For some reason they aren't going to try and dig out the basement. Lucky me. Guess I can tell everyone it was an accident due to faulty machinery or something._

 _Lilith just told me it's my turn to go see the doc._

 _…_

* * *

 **POV: Nepgear**

"Well… that's certainly something…" Uni bluntly stated. She closed the journal and put it back in the backpack. "I suppose now we know where he got his future journal from. But why did that Vince want to kill him?"

"I don't know either. Maybe there's something on the other pages."

"I already checked before." Uni sighed. "Nothing but daily life notes. How's the copy process going?"

"Oh. Right." I almost forgot about the N-gear and the future journal. On the N-gear's screen it read 'copy complete'. "It's all done. Let's find today's entry." I suggested.

Navigating a few menu's, I found tomorrow's Entry.

 _…_

 _The four of us decided to go to Lowee. It's close and we should meet up with Lowee's CPU candidate. Maybe this one will join our party, unlike Lastation's candidate._

 _…_

"Hm… So Lowee is the right call… I guess that makes sense." Uni said. "Oh, we should probably return Geoffrey's bag. He might notice it's gone if we keep it for too long."

"W-wait. We have to sneak into their room again?" I asked with a shocked expression. It was bad enough that I had to do it once. I couldn't bear to do it twice.

"Don't get cold feet now. We're already as good as done." Uni reassured. "We just have to put it where it was before. Right next to the door."

"Well… Oh, Uni. I can't do it. I'll just stand guard this time, alright?"

"You really are hopeless, aren't you." Uni sighed. "Alright. Let's go."

We didn't have too much trouble returning the backpack. We did run into IF in the hallway, but I don't think she noticed us sneaking in and out of the room. It's still early, so we should be able to read ahead on what's going to happen in the next few days.

* * *

 **Entry Number 26**

 **Lastation CPU hotel**

 **POV: Lilith**

"Psst. Lily… Hey,Lily, get up. It's nine in the morning."

"mmm… Five more minutes." I rolled over and put my pillow over my head. I'm sure if it's that important it can wait for ten more minutes."

"You never change, do you? Don't blame me for this." With that statement, someone took my pillow and poured something cold on my head.

"Eh!? Pff. Pah. Who!?" I exclaimed. When I noticed Geoffrey holding a can, I realised what just happened. "Bro. You for real?"

"Look, the others are already ready to go and Nepgear said she needs to discuss something with everyone."

I don't see how this can't wait for another fifteen minutes, but Nepgear is the 'leader' after all, so I might as well just get it over with.

I got ready for the day within five minutes. When I approached the others, who were waiting for me in front of the hotel, they all smiled at me.

"Good morning Miss Lily. Did you sleep well?" Compa asked.

"I would've loved to stay for another twenty minutes, but I suppose this must be important. Alright Nepgear, what'cha got for us?"

"Well… You see…" Nepgear started, looking slightly nervous. "I was thinking. Now that we have six members in our party and two of us are CPUs… we… uhm…"

Uni looked a bit annoyed by Nepgear's slow explanation. "She wants to split the group." She finished. "Half of us go to Lowee and the other half goes to Leanbox."…. eh?

"Excuse me, what?" Geoffrey asked with a surprised tone while almost dropping his can of Nepsi… Geez, I know he has a sweet tooth, but drinking that stuff in the morning is pretty bad… Oh, what am I thinking about? Uni's suggestion just turned the whole future journal Geoffrey has upside down. This can't be good.

"Y-yes. Thank you Uni. We decided that we should split up so we can get both mascots in one go. Me, Lilith and IF will go to Lowee while Uni, Geoffrey and Compa will head out for Leanbox."

"But that's… That's madness." Geoffrey tried to counter. IF and Compa were giving him a suspecting look. "What are you talking about? This way we can get both mascots and spare ourselves the trouble of having to cross half of Gamindustri twice." IF folded her arms and raised an eye brow. "I don't see how this is a bad idea."

"W-well… what if.. uhm…" He's clearly trying his best to convince everyone to stick together. Oh dear, I think he's about to snap.

"What if we run into Underling or that ASIC rat again?" I finished. "It'd be problematic if one of us lost because we were outnumbered."

"But we've gained so many levels since we last saw miss Underling. And mister Mouse wasn't that tough either." Compa said. "I don't think we'd lose to either of them, even if they worked together."

She wasn't wrong. We did gain a lot of levels during our search for the Hematite and the Treasure gem. Geoffrey had a defeated look on his face. It looks like the rest of the party already agreed on this. "Alright. I got nothing."

Geoffrey simply let out a 'hmph'. I hope he doesn't do anything reckless because of this.

"D-don't worry, Geoffrey." Nepgear tried to reassure him. "At least you don't have to worry about the snow. Leanbox is pretty warm, in fact. The skies are always clear and-"

Geoffrey raised his hand, gesturing Nepgear to stop talking for a second. "How did you know I dislike snow?"

"E-eh?" Nepgear looked shocked for a second, as if she said something she shouldn't have. W-well…"

"Lilith told me." Uni answered. "She told me when we were talking about where she came from."

"I did?" I don't recall telling her at all. But there's no other way they could've known, so… I guess it's the truth?

"Yeah. You told me and I told Nepgear."

I could hear Compa asking Geoffrey why he hates snow, but I didn't really pay attention to it. "Are you sure, Uni?"

"Why would I lie about such a trivial fact? Of course I'm sure." Well… No need to dig deeper into this subject.

About ten minutes later, both parties were ready and went on their way. This is probably the biggest change in the journal so far. I just hope the three of us will be strong enough to take on Rom and Ram.

 _-"_ _So let me get this straight. You stole the future journal and copied it, right?"_

 _-_ _ **"Well, I wouldn't say 'stole', but basically, yeah."**_

 _-"_ _Then why the heck did you even ask me to tell you about what happened before I we got here?_ _"_

 _-_ _ **"Well… I didn't read the entire normal journal because I respect the privacy of others… And I was curious about how you actually got here."**_

 _-"_ _… How is that supposed to explain anything?"_

* * *

 **Remember when I mentioned something about changing the story completely? Welp. If you thought I was just adding Uni to the party, you were wrong. With Uni in the party, Nepgear is going to make some decisions she wouldn't make on her own. And in case you were wondering, it was Uni's idea to split the parties. Why?... Don't ask me. Not like I'll explain it in the next chapter or something stupid like that.**

 **Anyway, jokes aside, hope you enjoyed the chapter. This one was mostly meant for showing the 'butterfly effect' the journal is having. Until next time.**

 **-Porpol**


	8. Chapter 7: A Tale of Two Nations

**Hey everyone. Most you are probably wondering why this one took so much longer than the other ones. Well…**

 **Tl;dr : I was busy playing Pokémon Moon and lost my train of thought.**

 **Long version: Basically, I wanted to get this out at the start of the week and make it the weekly thing I wanted it to be. I made a small announcement about releasing these once every week in one of the notes at the end of a chapter. I think it was Ch. 5. Anyway, a couple of other things came up which I needed to fix urgently, if you know what I mean. So after I got those things out of the way, I resumed writing the story. So why am I still almost a week late? Well… I was busy celebrating my b-day and take a guess what I had bought for myself that day? If you guessed Pokémon, you are guessed right. Basically, I spent most of my free time playing Pokémon and when I got back to writing the story I lost my train of thought half way through.**

 **(End of the explanation)**

 **So anyway, I did manage to get it done and I also made some character bio's for both Geoffrey and Lilith. They'll be on my profile page within the next few days, so keep your eyes open for those if you're interested. Think of it as my apology to those who were waiting for this come out.**

 **I think that's everything cleared up. So… Enjoy the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: A Tale of Two Nations**

 **Entry number 27.1**

 **Leanbox bassilicom**

 **POV: Uni**

After we arrived in Leanbox, we decided to not waste any time and head to the bassilicom.

"Excuse me. Is anyone here?" I called.

If the journal was correct, the oracle would've been kidnapped by the time Nepgear and the others arrived. We could easily prevent this by simply warning her about it before hand. Not only would we get both mascots, but we'll also get them without too much hassle.

"It looks like no one's here." Compa said.

Sure enough, the bassilicom was deserted. Not even the employees were present.

"This is the bassilicom right?" Geoffrey asked while folding his arms. "Isn't it weird that no one's here, even if this nation basically has no CPU nor CPU candidate present?"

"I know. Something smells fishy." I replied.

"Wait… Do you girls hear that?" Geoffrey asked while looking at one of the doors.

"You mean the strange 'chu' noises coming from behind that door?" Compa asked.

"That's… oddly specific, but yes…" He said while opening the door.

"Chu?" A familiar rat stood in the middle of the messy room, looking through some papers. "Huh? What the-… Is that you my sweet angelic Compa? Have you come to s-see me, chu?"

"Uhm… Mister Mouse, please don't come any closer." Compa requested.

I immediately drew my gun and pointed it at the rodent. "What are you doing here? Where's the oracle?"

Realizing what was actually happening, the rat quickly snapped back into reality. "Huh? It's you three again, chu!"

Geoffrey also grabbed his journal and summoned a bomb. I still don't really know where he's keeping all those.

"You gonna tell us what happened to all of this bassilicom's staff, or we gotta trash you before you talk?"

The rat growled at us and took a few steps back. "Screw you guys. I got what I came for." With that, he got on all four and ran off as fast as we got in.

"Hey! Get back here!" I called. "After him!"

* * *

 **Entry number 27.2**

 **Underverse dungeon entrance**

 **POV: Uni**

We chased after the rat for a good ten minutes. After he thought he had lost us, he entered some kind of cave-like dungeon.

"Hold on." Geoffrey said. "Isn't this place called Underverse?"

"I think so." Compa answered. "Why? Is something wrong?"

Geoffrey quickly took out one of his journals and checked one of the entries. As soon as he found what he was looking for his face turned pale… hmm…

I took out my phone and checked the copy of the 'future journal' Nepgear had sent to me.

* * *

 _Entry number 37_

 _Underverse_

 _…_

 _We chased after Underling after she ran off. She didn't get far, but we had a minor… 'inconvenience' on the way in… Dogoos. At the entrance. Loads and loads and loads of lewd and perverted Dogoos. I won't say any more. It was bad. I feel bad. I don't think I'll ever get over this. I hope I never have to go through that again. The four of us agreed on never talking about these events ever again._

 _…_

* * *

"…"

What the… Uhm… I don't think I want to go in there after reading this.

"H-hey, Uni." Geoffrey started while slowly putting his journal away. He was made an innocent smile at me as if he didn't know what was about to happen up ahead. "How… uhm… how about you go in first. I'm afraid of the dark and… uhm…"

"W-what. Why do I have to go first?" I replied. "You're a man, right? Men are supposed to be brave and go head first into danger."

"That's not fair. You're a goddess. Like…. I'm human. You're on a whole other level than me and-"

"I'm still a girl, you know!"

Compa just looked at us with a confused look. "Well… If none of you want to go first, I guess I'll-"

"You stay right here!" Both of us exclaimed while pulling her back from the entrance.

* * *

 **Entry number 28.1**

 **Lowee**

 **POV: Lilith**

"Wow… It's so cold…" Nepgear said. "But the scenery really takes your breath away."

She wasn't wrong. This really is a sight to behold. The snowy landscape and the colourful architecture gave Lowee this magical feeling. As if we're in some kind of fairy-tale.

"Don't waste too much time looking around." IF said. "We've got to get info pronto."

"What's wrong with admiring the view?" I asked. "The mascot won't die because we're taking an extra minute to breath in the atmosphere, right?"

IF sighed. "You can do that after we've been to the bassilicom. Unlike Lastation's oracle, Lowee's oracle doesn't have a bad reputation, so we should be fine."

Across the street, there was a small crowd gathered around what looked like someone handing out flyers. Is that… Underling?

"Hey, isn't that Underling?" I asked while pointing at the crowd.

"Hm? Oh you're right!" Nepgear confirmed. "We should probably-…" She stopped herself mid-sentence. I looked at her to see why, but she seemed to be thinking about something. In fact, I could've sworn she was starting at a child in blue standing a few feet away from the crowd.

"Uhm… We should probably…." She continued with her usual nervous tone. "We should probably wait a second to see what she's doing."… What?

"...Why?" Me and IF asked.

"W-well… Just trust me on this one, okay?" Nepgear didn't look too confident about this, but I think I'm starting to understand what's going on here. According to the 'future journal', we were supposed to straight up engage Underling and she would respond with kidnapping the kid in blue. I think the kid in blue is also the CPU candidate, Rom.

After a few seconds of waiting, Rom's younger sister, Ram, came by and the both of them walked off.

"Alright. We're done spectating." Nepgear declared. She's not even trying to hide it. She must've read the journal. I'll ask her later. I don't want to let IF know about it.

As we approached Underling, she started to talk to herself. "Ugh. Why do I have to put up with this stupid job? It's all because of those six idiots. Seriously, I'll beat 'em up so bad next time…"

"Excuse me." IF started. "Are we perhaps those idiots you are referring to?

"Yeah." Underling responded. "The dumb blonde, the transforming baby, the snob, the senile lolicon, the one lining broad and the raven-haired gun addict."

"Snob, huh?" IF said. "I didn't know having proper manners came across that way."

Nepgear sighed with a look of disappointment on her face. "Transforming baby? Do I really look that little?"

"Tsk. I'll have you know that I put a lot of effort in my lines." I said.

"Uh-huh…" Realising she was talking to the very same people she just mentioned before, Underling's eyes went wide and she took a step back. "Hey, it's you all! When'd you find me?"

"It isn't that hard to find you when you're just handing out flyers while preaching about putting your faith in ASIC, y'know?" I said. "How about we teach you a lesson in pain?"

Underling let out a 'Tsk' before taking another step back. "This could get just as bad as the last line. Even worse."… It wasn't that bad, right?

Underling looked around to see if she could take anyone hostage before making her escape. After she couldn't find anyone (Specifically Rom), she just turned tail and ran off at full speed.

"Hey! Don't run away!" IF called after her. She and I got ready to chase after her, but Nepgear stopped us from doing so. "Why're you stopping us, Gear?" IF asked

"We don't have time for this. We have to find the mascot before she does" Nepgear explained. "If she's busy handing out flyers, she won't be going after the mascot."

"… I didn't think you'd be the kind of girl to think into the grand scheme of things. Good call." I complimented. Even if she just tried to prevent the kidnapping and is basically trying her best to overthrow the entire 'future journal', she does have a point.

"I suppose you're right…" IF admitted. "Alright. Let's head for the bassilicom then."

* * *

 **Entry number 28.2**

 **Lowee bassilicom**

 **POV: Nepgear**

"Pardon us. Is anyone here?" I asked.

"Yes. Welcome to Lowee's bassilicom." A blue haired woman with red glassed welcomed us kindly. She wears a red long jacket with a matching graduating cap. "Oh, my. Pardon my presumption, but are you by chance Planeptune's CPU candidate?"

I responded with a nod. "Yes. I'm Nepgear. We came here today to ask for your help."

"For a CPU candidate come all this way must mean there's some very important matter to discuss. Oh. Pardon my manners. I am Mina Nishizawa. Lowee's Oracle. How may I be of service?"

After briefly explaining our current situation, Mina nodded and closed her eyes thinking about how to respond. "I see. You seek of our mascot's power. Unfortunately, I cannot help you with this request."

"Why not?" Lilith asked.

"Lowee's mascot has a very important mission. If it were to abandon this mission, our nation would face a great crisis."

"Mind I asked what this mission is?" IF asked.

Mina shook her head. "I'm sorry. I cannot tell you this either."

IF turned to us and started to whisper something to us. A bit rude, considering Mina is still right there. She could probably hear every last word if she tried. "If we want info on the mascot, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way. Let's head out for the guild, alright ladies?"

"She doesn't look like she'd let go of the info easily." Lilith added. "I suppose this is the best call."

"I agree." I said. "Alright. Let's say our goodbye's and leave."

"Oh. Are you leaving already?" Mina asked.

"Yeah. We've got what we came for." IF responded. "Until next time."

"It would be rude of me to shoo away such well-travelled guests without giving them something. So how about a story. Do you know Lowee's lore regarding the Deity of Sin, Arfoire?"

I had already read about this story in the copied journal. But it would be rude to deny her so I guess I'll play along.

"Mina! Food!" Two girls in pink and blue ran in the room demanding for food. "Hungry…" The blue one added.

"Now now children. Please be patient. As you can see, we have guests."

"Guests?" The pink one asked. The both of them looked at us for a moment. "Oh, uhm… Hello. Welcome to Lowee's bassilicom. I'm the CPU candidate Ram and this is my older sister Rom." She politely introduced herself. "Hey, Mina, did I do it right? Can we get our snacks now?"

"I'm really hungry." Rom said.

Mina sighed. "Alright children. I'll get you something to eat. Pardon me for this, but I'll have to ask you to leave. I have matters to attend to, as you can see."

"Actually, there's one more thing we'd like to ask." I said. "You see, we also came here to seek of the aid of Lowee's CPU candidates."

"As their guardian, I must vehemently refuse that request. As you can see, they're still children. But if they were to go with you as fellow CPU candidates, I suppose I can make an exception."

Mina looked at the twins for a moment. Then the pink one spoke up again. "So wait. you're a CPU too?" She asked.

"Y-yes. I'm Nepgear. The CPU candidate of Planeptune. Nice to meet you two."

The both of them were a lot less hostile towards me. Probably because we didn't get in a fight like we should've been.

"We found a way to save our sisters and we'd like you two to help us." I explained. "So… would you like to come with us?"

"You know… how to save our big sis?" Rom asked.

"Yes. And we really need your help to save her. Will you help us?"

The twins looked at each. They probably didn't expect this at all and I'll have to give them a moment to understand what I just said.

Before the twins could answer, Lilith suddenly spoke up. "Excuse me. Nepgear, don't you think it's kind of rude to ask someone to come with you so suddenly?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked.

Lilith folder her arms. "Well, you should give them a day or two to think about this, don't you think. Beside, even if they're CPUs, they're still kids."

Lilith wasn't wrong. I was kind of rushing things and they probably have no idea how to react to this.

"Alright then. Rom. Ram. We'll be back in a few days. Make sure to think about my offer really hard, okay."

"Uhm… Sure… yeah." Ram said, looking a bit distant, still trying to comprehend what I just said.

"Uh-huh." Rom added.

* * *

 **Entry number 28.3**

 **Lowee**

 **POV: Nepgear**

After we left Lowee's bassilicom IF set off for the guild while Lilith and I would ask around for information on the mascot.

"So far no one seems to know anything about the mascot." I said with disappointment.

"Perhaps IF has more luck at the guild. I'll just sent her a text." Lilith pulled out her phone. "Say, I've been meaning to ask you this. When did you get a sneak peek at the future journal?"

"Huh! W-what do you mean!?" I asked nervously. "I… I never knew about Geoffrey's future journal."

"…"

"…"

Realising my mistake, I quickly covered my mouth with my hands.

Lilith shrugged. "Caught you off guard, eh?" She laughed.

"H-how did you know?"

"It was pretty obvious, honestly. I mean, I've also read a few entries myself and I know for a fact you prevented Rom's kidnapping."

It was that obvious, huh? Well… No way I'm talking myself out of it now.

"Alright. I admit it. I may or may not have snuck into your room and copied the entire journal." I sighed.

"See? That wasn't so hard." She assured me. "But why are you so determined to change the future? Aren't you afraid you might end up changing so much that you won't be able to save your sister?"

"T-that's not it." I argued. "I just don't like seeing others get hurt and… Well… I just didn't want to make enemies with the other CPU candidates."

"But you would've ended up befriending them anyway, right?"

"Huh? I would?"

Lilith turned to me looking at me with wide eyes. She then facepalmed. It looked like it hurt, because she actually had a red mark on her forehead because of it. "You didn't read the entire journal, did you?"

"Well… Not really." I was fidgeting on the spot. I'm going to get yelled at, aren't I?

"Did you make it half way through?" She asked while rubbing her temples.

"…N-no."

"Did you read past your first visit to Leanbox?"

"…"

The both of us were silent. Now that I think about it, I probably should've read ahead a little before trying to change things.

Lilith took a deep breath.

"Do you know why Geoffrey let himself get beat up by Underling the first time you two met?" She asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Check your N-gear. What level is Geoffrey right now?"

I took my N-gear from my pocket and navigated through the menu.

* * *

 _Uni: lvl 33_

 _Lilith: lvl 30_

 _IF: lvl 28_

 _Compa: lvl 29_

 _Nepgear: lvl 28_

 _Geoffrey: lvl 41_

* * *

"…He's level 41 right now…?"

Lilith's eyes went wide with surprise. She quickly grabbed the N-gear from my hands to see for herself.

"Wait what? How did that happen? Just a moment before I checked he was the same as me and Uni."

Lilith quickly regained her composure and tried to explain her point.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say, his level was quite high when you two met. He could've easily won that fight if he wanted to."

"So why did he lose?" I turned my N-gear off and tried to put it back in my pocket before Lilith stopped me.

"Check your copy of the journal for a second. If I remember correctly, it was documented as entry number 15."

I did as she told me and opened the file with the future journal.

* * *

 _Entry number 15_

 _…_

 _I decided to protect the girls from the delinquent. She was pretty darn strong and she managed to get the better of me in mere moments. I lost badly. Looking back, now that I know how 'levels' work, I probably should've grinded for more levels before jumping in._

 _…_

* * *

"So he lost because he wasn't strong enough." I stated. "But he also lost when he was strong enough. I don't think I get it."

"It's simple." Lilith began to explain. "He lost because he didn't want to change the future. If he did, he might end up making it worse. Like… Would you have been able to transform if he just won that battle?"

"I don't think so." I confirmed. "When I saw him desperately fighting to protect me, I felt determined to do the same."

It slowly dawned on me what Lilith was trying to tell me.

"Oh! I get it." I clapped my hands together. "He lost on purpose so I would regain my ability to transform."

Lilith looked satisfied. "See? Sometimes it's better to sacrifice the battle just so you can win the war."

"But… does that mean I should've let Rom get kidnapped?"

Lilith scratched the back of her head while trying to come up with an answer. "Well… If you put it like that, It's… kind of cruel, but… uhm… agh, dang it. Yes. Yes you should've let the pre-schooler get kidnapped. There. I said it."

"… uhm." I don't think I want to follow the journal if it's that cruel.

"But you should also have rescued her afterwards." Lilith quickly added. "Just like it was described in the journal."

I still feel kind of uncertain about all of this. Is she really trying to tell me to let all of this happen and do nothing?

"Look, when you get some time off, just read through it once or twice. You'll know what I mean… Oh, but don't read past the one entry titled 'The end of Sin'."

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's basically whatever happens after you guys defeat the Deity of Sin. So… spoilers."

My eyes went wide when I realised what Lilith just told me. "Wait, you mean we'll actually be strong enough to defeat the Deity of Sin?... And we didn't prevent the revival?"

Lilith gestured me to stop. "Just… read the thing. In the meantime, I'll go give IF a call."

"A-alright then. Goodness, this is actually kind of exciting now that I know all of this. Tee-hee."

* * *

 **Entry number 27.2 (continued)**

 **Underverse dungeon entrance**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Uni and I both called at the same time.

After a few hours, the both of us were still trying to decide who should go in first. Seriously, what does she have against dark and spooky caves? Not like it's that dangerous… I would say that if didn't know a bunch of Dogoo's were waiting at the entrance ready to ambush us and… do 'something'…

We've tried pretty much anything. We flipped a coin so many times, the coin got stuck in a tree. We had drawn so many straws, we ran out of them by the end. And now we were playing rock paper scissors to figure out who would go in.

Compa had tried to put end to this, but neither of us really listened to her so she gave up and started to drink some of her homemade tea.

"Alright. That's it. I give up." I sighed. "I'll go in first. If I don't make it out in an hour, I am confirmed to be deceased."

Uni looked surprised and relieved at the same time. "Finally decided to man up?"

I simply let out a hiss and entered the dungeon.

"Maybe it isn't so bad." I thought to myself. "I mean, we're here much earlier than anticipated, so those Dogoo's might not even be there at all. And we've been standing at the entrance for about an hour. The rat probably got away ages ago."

I regained some confidence and picked up my pace.

"Yeah. I was probably worried about nothing. Besides, I future me never said the Dogoo's were interested in me. They were probably perverted Dogoo's that like girls. That's probably what happened." I laughed. "I was so worried about nothing. Silly me."

I looked around, just in case my presumption was way off. No Dogoo's on the ceiling. None on the walls. None on the floor. And I do believe this was the room the journal described.

"I'm… I'm actually… heh… hehe… Hahahaha!"

I don't think I've felt this relieved in a long time. I mean, it was either me or her and now we've got no way to beat that buffed rat with that mascot disc, but I'll figure something out. I'll probably just smash the mascot disc before he can use it.

"Alright, time to go get the others and-"

"Goo?"

"…"

"Dogoo! Dogoo!"

"… I totally raised that death flag, didn't I?"

-" _About half an hour later_ "

 **POV: Uni**

About half an hour has passed since he went in there. It wasn't that bad, right? I mean, according to the journal it only took five minutes. Then again, they did go in with a full party rather than with just one person. Maybe I should go check on him.

"Uhm… Are we going to wait for much long?" Compa asked. "I feel like something bad may have happened to Geoffy."

"Just a little longer. I… I really don't like caves, you see." I lied.

At that very moment, a figure covered in goo stumbled out of the cave. In fact, there were a few Dogoo's sticking on the figure's back and head.

"…"

"…"

Compa and I didn't say a thing. I think it really was a good idea to let him go first. But now I just feel bad for doing this.

The figure spat out some goo and whipped some more off its face, revealing its lifeless eyes. I think he's mumbling something under his breath.

"Uhm… what did you say?" I asked.

He repeated himself, but it was still too quiet for me to understand. He looks like he is staring right through me.

"C-could you maybe speak up?"

I walked towards him to hear what he was lamenting about. "It's sticky… It's sticking to me… Don't… don't stick it there. It's sticky…. It's sticking to me… Don't…. don't stick it there." He repeated quietly over and over again. I think he just got traumatised by the amount of Dogoo's that ambushed him.

Compa took a bottle of water and threw it straight in Geoffrey's face, causing him to snap out of his trance.

"Eh! What!? Where am I? Who am I?"

"Uhm…. What exactly happened in there, Geoffy?" Compa asked.

"T-the cave?" He stuttered. "It's… It's sticky… It's sticking to me… Don't… don't stick it there. It's sti-"

Compa took another bottle of water and repeated the process.

"Ah! Hey! Stop that!" Geoffrey exclaimed. "At least use warm water or something."

"Geoffy. I think you have PTSD from whatever happened in that cave."

Geoffrey laughed and mocked Compa's conclusion. "PTSD? Yeah, right. Nothing of the sort. I'm completely fine."

I narrowed my eyes and stared at him for a second. "… Dogoo."

"D-Dog-… Dogoo?...It's sticky… It's sticking to me… Don't… don't sti-" Compa once again threw some water at her patient.

"Eh. Pff. Pah! I told you to use warmer water!" He complained.

"Just… how many did you kill on your own?"

Geoffrey took a moment and started counting while pulling the remaining ones off of his back and head. "About…. Seventy…. No…. uhm…. I think was ninety-seven. With these remaining four, a hundred and one."

"W-what!" The both of us said with disbelief.

I quickly took out my phone to check what level he was.

* * *

 _Uni: lvl 30_

 _Lilith: lvl 30_

 _IF: lvl 28_

 _Compa: lvl 26_

 _Nepgear: lvl 28_

 _Geoffrey: lvl 41_

* * *

"… You just gained eleven levels." I stated.

"It was not worth it." He snarled. "Let's just get going. This cave only has one exit according to its map so the rat is still in here."

"Alright then. Lead the way." I gestured Geoffrey to move in front of us.

"… I hate you." He said before moving on.

* * *

 **Entry number 28.3**

 **Underverse**

 **POV: Compa**

I still don't really get why the two of them were making such a big fuzz out of going in the cave, but I'm glad the both of them did pull me back when I tried to go in first.

After a while we ran in some monsters.

"Alright. Let's take them down." Uni took her rifle and aimed it at the monsters.

I took out my syringe and got ready for the fight. I noticed Geoffrey didn't pull out any of his weapons and instead backed off the fight.

"Are you not going to fight Geoffy?"

Geoffrey folded his arms and let out a 'hmpf'. "You guys need some more levels. I'm pretty sure I just gained enough levels for the upcoming seven dungeons."

"Don't act so childish." Uni scolded. "We'll wipe the floor with those monsters if you're joining in."

"I know. I'm getting ready for what's up ahead."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Geoffrey didn't respond. He's probably still mad at us for letting him go in that cave alone. Well… I'll treat him to a nice cup of pudding when we get out of here.

After we defeated all the monsters blocking the way, we found mister mouse. He was standing in front of a cage. In the cage was a green-haired lady. She wears a black dress and looks similar to Lady Vert. I think that's Leanbox's oracle.

"Chu? H-huh? It's you three again." Mister mouse said. "Don't you guys ever give up?"

"Mister mouse. Would you please free the oracle from her prison?"

Mister mouse started to blush and its eyes started to beam. "Sure. You can have her. Want me to bubble wrap her, chu?"

Mister mouse shook his head and regained his composure. "Wait. I can't do that. My boss is going to get crazy mad if I release her. After all the effort we went through to get her here. I even got the mascot's location from ransacking the bassilicom."

"So we'll have to turn you into roadkill first before you release her, you rat?" Uni threatened.

"Rat? I'll have you know that this cute mouse has a name. It's Warechu. Warechu!"

"… It had a name all along?" Geoffrey asked. His questioned was ignored though. Mister mouse took out a disc and summoned several monsters to fight by his side.

"You guys are going to regret crossing ASIC." Mister mouse changed his voice back to his 'sweet-talk voice' and turned to me. "And then My angelic Compa and I can finally be all alone."

"Ew. Mister mouse. You're drooling again."

"You'll help us fight him, right Geoffrey?" Uni asked.

"Well… I guess you asked nicely. Fine. You two take that group of Do-… Dog-….." He stopped himself and began to shudder uncontrollably.

I took another glass of water out of my pocket and threw it at him.

"Eh!? Pff." He rapidly shook his head and regained his composure. "You guys take the group of blue numbskulls, I'll take the rat."

With that, the three of us got ready for the fight. It might be a little tough with only three of us, but I'm sure we'll win this fight with the power of team work.

* * *

 **Heya. Good job on making it all the way to the end. Hope I didn't disappoint you considering how long it actually took to get this done.**

 **Anyway, For those who paid close attention, you may have noticed that Lilith and Underling never actually met each other directly. Lilith may have read about Underling in the journal before their encounter, but Underling still gives her a nickname before she noticed the girls. For those paid even closer attention, you probably already know that Lilith and Underling did meet each other briefly. In Chapter 5, when Uni, Geoffrey and Lilith were on the hunt for the Treasure gem, It is mentioned that Underling was shoo'd off by Geoffrey. In other words, Underling did encounter her and Lilith probably said one of her iconic one-liners before she ran off. And you thought I made a plot hole… Or you didn't even notice…eh….**

 **Also, I kind of had trouble giving Ram a definitive personality in the one scene she meets Nepgear. She doesn't really have a grudge against her, because she never thought of her as an enemy because of Mina. I always thought Ram wouldn't act so hostile towards Nepgear if she never introduced herself as a CPU first, but as a normal girl.**

 **Welp. Chapter's done. Until next time.**

 **-Porpol**


	9. Chapter 8: Doubt

**Hey everyone. Before we get in the story, I have three minor things to tell you**

 **First of all, cheers to those that left a review on last chapter. Glad you enjoyed it.**

 **Second, let's just forget about that one time I mentioned weekly thing. It's probably never going to come out that consistently. Instead, it'll be done when it's done.**

 **Third, You probably noticed I've been skipping a few scenes from the game in the last few chapters. I just want to clear up a massive skip in this chapter. I did try to think of a way to make it different from the original, but it just didn't work out and it didn't really add anything. So don't be too surprised when you see a big skip halfway through. Quick note, I'll be making more skips like these whenever I feel like I can't add anything special… Also I really wanted to get Nep and the other CPUs in the party. At this rate, it would take another five chapters until that would happen.**

 **Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:** **Doubt**

 **Entry number 28.3**

 **Underverse**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"Incinerate!" I cried while throwing a combustible flask at the rat. "Chuuu!" It cried in pain as it was engulfed in flames.

Obviously, this wasn't really a challenge for anyone. Those D-.. Dog-… Those blue pests were nothing compared to Compa and Uni and the rat didn't stand a chance against me, considering how many levels I got recently.

"Ow. Ow. Ow! Why does love hurt so much, chu?" It asked.

"That whole love thing is getting old, you know." I deadpanned.

I turned my back to the rat and regrouped with the others. We'll have to do the pest control later. Leanbox's oracle needs our help first. She looks like she's in a poor condition.

"Is… is anyone there?" She coughed.

"Oh no! Miss oracle looks like she's dying." Compa exclaimed. She quickly opened the cage (which for some reason was already unlocked) and started examining the oracle.

"Please. Don't… Don't waste your time on me." She coughed. "My only regret… My only regret is… That I was unable to see my darling Vert before my untimely demise."

"Just hang in there!" Uni said. "We'll get you fixed up in no time."

I could see Compa's face slowly turning pale. "I… I can't seem to find anything wrong with her." She was on the verge of crying. "Oh no. Miss oracle. Where does it hurt. Please tell me."

The oracle had grown limb. She was looking up with… eyes full of life?

"I… I don't feel anything. I… I think my time… Has finally come."

Don't feel anything. Nothing wrong with her vitals. A minute ago she was sitting straight up in her cage like nothing was wrong. I think I've figured it out.

"Compa." I said while putting a hand on her shoulder.

"W-what is it Geoffy?" I shook my head and tighten my grip for dramatic effect. "I think I have a cure for this. But I'll need some water."

"O-okay!" She quickly took another bottle of water out of her pocket. Why does she have so many?

"Thanks." I said before throwing the contents directly at the oracle. Shocked, she quickly got up and wiped her face.

"H-hey! What was that for?" She asked while visibly agitated.

"Oh look. We just needed to add some water." I mocked.

"Are you saying she was just acting like she was dying?" Uni asked.

"Nah. I think the water was a miracle cure in her case." I replied.

"What nonsense!" The oracle exclaimed while posing dramatically. "I… I really am on the verge of death here and-"

"I got some more water." Compa interrupted. "It looked like the water really was bringing her back to life. Maybe we should use some more."

The oracle dropped the act as soon as she saw Compa taking out another bottle. "… I'm fine. Thanks for your concerns though."

"Your condition sure did a 180 there. Are you sure you don't need any more of the 'miracle cure', miss oracle?" I joked.

"This is why I dislike men." The oracle said under her breath.

The oracle introduced herself as Chika Hakozaki. We were about to leave the dungeon until Warechu stopped us. "Just where do you think you're going with that Oracle, chu?"

"You're still here?" Uni asked. "I was sure you had already turned tail on us after getting beaten so badly."

"Don't take me too lightly, chu. I've still got a trump card up my fluffy sleeve." The rat put his usual disc away and replaced it with a strange green disc.

The oracle's eyes went wide with shock. "That's… A mascot disc! Where'd you find that?"

"Just a gift from my totally awesome boss. Now then. I will show you the true power of my love for Compa!" It said.

The rat was engulfed in a bright light and we were forced to cover our eyes. When the light faded, the rat had grown twice in size and was emitting some kind of dark aura. "Yes. I can feel it. This is power. It might just be enough to… hmm."

The rat got in a fighting stance. Looks like we're not getting out of this one without a fight. I knew I should've run up to it and kick it before it could power up.

Uni drew her rifle. "Get ready. Here it comes."

The aura around the rat suddenly grew fierce. It launched some kind of beam attack at the four of us. We all managed to get out the way just in the nick of time.

"That wasn't very nice of you, mister mouse!" Compa cried while taking out her syringe.

I took out my weapons and got in a fighting stance. "Tsk. You'll pay for that one."

"I'll fight too." Chika said, now holding a spear.

"Are you sure, miss Chika?" Compa asked with a concerned look. "You're still weak and-"

"I told you I'm fine. Also, it would be rude of me to let my saviours fight all on their own without me helping them, right?"

Before any of us could respond, the rat charged at Chika and slammed the ground in front of her, making her jump back. "Tsk. Persistent little thing." She said before unloading an relentless barrage of stabs and slices. All of them seemed to hit, but none of them looked like they even scratched the rat in the slightest.

"Did you try something, chu?" Warechu taunted. "Here's what a real attack looks like." Before Chika could react, she was thrown back by some invisible attack from the rat…?

"Kyaaa!" Chika cried.

"Oh no! Miss Chika!" Compa quickly ran over and began tending to her wounds.

"Stop that!" The rat yelled while launching some kind of sphere at Compa and Chika.

Uni quickly got in front of it and destroyed it with a single shot, causing it to explode. "How dare you abuse the powers of a mascot disc like that." She charged one of her special attacks and aimed it at Warechu. "EX Multibuster!"

It was once again a direct hit. But like before, the rat didn't even flinch from the attack. This is actually starting to look bad.

Within the blink of an eye, the rat teleported(?) behind Uni and knocked her out cold.

"This disc is awesome! Nothing can stop me with powers like these." Warechu then turned to me. "Grandpas like you have no place in a world like this. I'll beat you and get a promotion from it."

I already knew that disc would make him stronger, but I never thought he would turn in some kind of magician. I'm pretty sure he couldn't do that before. It seems unnatural. As if… As if it never supposed to be like this… Hmm…

"Your 'awesome powers' are nothing compared to me." I took a strength ++ potion from my pocket, which I had bought with Nepgear back in Planeptune, and guzzled it down. "Blech. It tastes like crap. But at least this should be enough to take him on."

Not wanting to be initiated on first, I charged at the rat with my journal.

"That ain't gonna work, chu" The rat put its arms in front of it, ready to counter my attack.

"Right where I want you." I threw a bomb at the rat, making it drop its guard. "C-chu!?" Before it could recover, I began beating it senseless with my journal.

"Take that! And this! And that!" I cried. Suddenly, the rat punched me back. "Oomph!"

Getting annoyed by how much punishment the rat was taking, I took out several bombs and flask and started to fling them toward the rat. "Die. Die! DIE!"

He got on all four and dodged all of my attacks while zigzagging around the cave. Eventually, one of my bombs hit the rat, causing it to lose its balance and run in a wall.

Unfortunately, this almost caused a cave in, making rocks fall from the ceiling. Compa and Chika were fine. Uni on the other hand, which was still unconscious, was about to get flattened by the falling debris.

"Uni!" I shouted. I ran over to her as fast as I could and picked her up. I managed to get her out of the way, but my foot got stuck on some smaller rocks. "What the-aagh!" I tried to pull myself free, but it moving my foot even slightly was painful as hell. "Damn it. A broken foot is the last thing I need right now."

I looked behind me and saw a severely weakened rat slowly walking towards me. "Huff… puff… I'm… I'm not done with you yet, chu."

Compa and Chika ran towards me and began digging me free from my rocky prison. "Hang in there. You're almost out." Chika reassured.

Before they could free me, the rat picked up his pace and charged right at us.

Compa quickly ducked out of the way, but Chika grabbed her spear and blocked the rat's attack. Looks like the rat really is getting tired if Chika can stop it with such ease.

Chika then pushed the rat back and kicked him away. "Ow!" the rat cried.

Compa took hold of her syringe and charged a beam attack on the tip of the needle. "Sorry mister mouse." She said before firing several energy bullets, finishing Warechu off. "Chuuuuuu!"

"Yay. We won." Compa celebrated. She then realised everyone around her was in need of medical attention and quickly began attending to her patients.

- **"** ** _Ten minutes later."_**

Compa managed to get everyone back on their feet without too much trouble. Uni didn't have any severe wounds from getting knocked out and my foot was okay after Compa patched it up. It did hurt pretty badly and I'm pretty sure I saw some bone sticking out of my foot at one point. but she managed to get it back in one piece, so I won't complain.

We also asked Chika about Leanbox's mascot. She was surprisingly cooperative, considering cooperative compared to Kei. "If you promise me to bring back my dear sister Vert, you can take the mascot temporarily." she told us. After that, she left the dungeon and returned to the bassilicom.

Lucky for us, the mascot was in the same dungeon and it joined us.

"That was almost too easy." I said while we left the dungeon.

"What are you talking about?" Uni narrowed her eyes. "We nearly died back there because of that rat."

Before I could respond, my phone vibrated. "Oh. A text."

 _You have two new messages._

 _Lily – Guess what ;)_

 _Unknown sender – Dimension tripping information, Histoire_

I guess I'll read Histoire's text off-screen. How'd she get my number anyway? Right now I wanna see what Lilith has to say.

 _'We got help from Lowe's mascot without releasing the rbots lol meet us in Planeptune basilicom asap :D'_

"… Son of a-… Damn it Lilith." Not only did she fail to spell half her message correctly, she also made another change in history.

Uni noticed I got worked up about the text I got. "What's wrong?" She asked. "N-not like I care or anything."

I sighed. "Nothing. We're headed for Planeptune next. Nepgear and the others got Lowee's mascot."

"Really?" Compa asked. "That's great news! Now we can save Nep-nep and the others."

"Noire… I'm finally coming to rescue you." Uni quietly said.

"…" I kept quiet. If Lilith is going to be like that, I gotta make an effort myself too. And I think I know just the time and place to fix this 'mistake'.

* * *

 **Entry number 30**

 **Planeptune Bassilicom**

 **POV: Nepgear**

"What do you mean we can't go save our sisters yet?" Uni angrily exclaimed.

It's been a week since we got the help of all the mascots. We've been taking quests for a majority of the time to get stronger, but according to Lilith we still are not strong enough to take on CFW Judge.

"Look, you skipped half the events the journal described." Lilith explained. "You still gotta get Rom and Ram, you still gotta get your butt kicked by CFW Brave and you still gotta take on that ASIC fortress on that small island to the west of here."

Uni and I both had read the parts of the journal Lilith told us to read. Neither of us were overjoyed to find out how long it still would take until we finally got to see our sisters again.

"If we save them now, we won't need to do any of that." Uni countered. "Also, with me in party, there's no way we'd ever lose."

Lilith took a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is that you're not strong enough… yet."

Uni was taken aback by her comment. "W-what did you just say?"

"You heard me." She said with a serious look on her face. "If you go now, you'll be dead before you can even say your sister's name again."

Uni clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I thought we were friends Lilith."

"P-please stop fighting. We're on the s-same side here." I stuttered. "Shouldn't we be focusing on how to get stronger, rather than fight among us… R-right?"

Uni glared at me. "You too, Nepgear? Who's side are you on anyway?"

"Huh? But I just said we're all on the same side."

Uni turned her head and scoffed. "Not like I want to be on the same side or anything."

"Uni… Rude." Lilith bluntly stated. "What's another week compared to three years anyway? Not like they'll die because of it."

"Uhm… You may have just set a death flag for us." I sweatdropped. "But I think she's right, Uni. I really want to see my big sis again, too. But that CFW Judge guy is really strong. I don't think we can take him right now."

Uni let out a 'hmpf' before walking off.

"Uni?" I said.

Lilith shrugged. "She'll come around. Probably. In the meantime, wanna play some checkers?"

"H-huh?" It wasn't uncommon for us to have no sense of tension whatsoever. But I feel like Lilith is taking it a little too far. "I, uhm… I don't really feel like it. In fact, I'm going to my room."

"Suit yourself." Lilith shrugged once more.

As I was making my way back to my room, I ran into Geoffrey and IF. "Oh hey Gear." IF greeted. "Hm? What's the matter? You look pretty down."

"Hm? Oh… It's just… well.." I rubbed the back of my head as I tried to explain what was wrong. I can't tell IF about the future journal according to Lilith and Geoffrey would probably yell at me for stealing his journal twice if I told him anything.

"Is it about the Graveyard?" Geoffrey asked.

I sighed. "Yes. I don't think we're strong enough to save everyone yet."

IF raised an eyebrow. "What happened to all that confidence? Did you leave it in Lowee?"

Geoffrey let out a small laugh. "Perhaps we should wait a little longer before going back to the Gamindustri Graveyard."

IF turned to Geoffrey with a surprised look on. "You want to wait another week before we go save Nep and the others?"

"I don't see why not." Geoffrey stated. "They won't die if we wait another week, right?"

Yeah, we've definitely raised a death flag for ourselves now. "Sorry, but I'm going to my room." I quickly walked past them without saying another thing. Everyone is having such high expectations of me. It's making me kind of nervous. More than I should be.

When I got to my room, I closed the door and dropped myself on the bed. Staring at the ceiling, I started to think about all the things that could go wrong. "What if I'm not strong enough? What if Someone gets injured because I couldn't help them? What if we lose because of me like last time?"

After a few minutes, I hear someone softly knocking on my door."Hm? Oh. Come in." I replied while getting in a sitting position.

The door was slowly pushed open by Histoire. "Nepgear? Can I have a moment to speak with you?"

"Oh. Sure. What is it?" Histoire slowly floated towards me and stopped next to me. "I've been wondering. You seem to be… uncertain about something lately. It's not that your confidence is lacking, but rather something is lingering on your mind."

I was a bit surprised at how accurate Histoire's description was. "Huh? How'd you know?" I asked.

"It was simply a hunch." She smiled. "Would you like to share what you've been thinking about lately?"

"Well… You see…" I started. "Everyone is having such high expectations of me."

"Well you are the CPU candidate of Planeptune. A goddess. An image for people to look up to."

I shook my head. "That's not what I mean. It's about Neptune. I don't think I'm strong enough to save her. I don't think I'll ever reach that point."

Even if the future journal said I would be strong enough, I somehow still doubt it. A lot has already changed and what if this changes too? What if I can't get the strength I need to do this.

"I see. Is that what is holding you back?" Histoire questioned. I responded with a nod. "Hm… Maybe a little story would help you clear your mind. Have I ever told you about a similar problem Neptune once faced before you were born?"

"A similar problem?" I tried to recall if Histoire did tell me such a story once before. "I don't think you have."

"There once was a time, a few days before you were born actually, when Neptune couldn't handle the pressure of ruling a nation. Much like nowadays, she'd always try to sneak out of her office and neglect her work. Whenever I confronted her about it she'd always tell me the same thing."

"What was it?" I asked.

"She'd always respond with 'nothing ever happens anyway. If nothing goes wrong, I don't have to do anything, right?' I'm sure you can see how wrong she was at the time, but in her own sense she was right. She simply was an icon for the nation at the time being. The people didn't need her protection yet."

I slightly tilted my head. "Yet?"

"Indeed." Histoire continued. "One day, monster from a nearby dungeon had grown restless. They decided to attack the nation. Of course, this caused Neptune workload to grow exponentially. It was at this point she was starting to doubt herself."

"So what happened? How'd she regain her confidence?"

Histoire smiled. "I can't really explain it, but I somehow managed to convince her to at least try to get some work done. When she saw all the good it did and how much her shares had grown because of it, it motivated her to keep going. People around her were getting more and more friendly with her. She made quite a few friends. Of course, this was a long time ago and these friends have all moved on. But it was the smiles of her friends that brought her peace to her mind."

I took a moment to let it all sink in. Neptune's friends. She actually got her work done because of her friends. It's like a miracle just hearing 'Neptune' and 'Work' in the same sentence in a positive manner.

"Perhaps your friends can have a similar effect on you, Nepgear." Histoire added. "It's not that they are expecting too much of you. It's that they want you to succeed. And deep down, you too know that you'll succeed no matter what."

"Histoire…" I was a bit touched by Histoire's words. She's right. I've been doubting myself because of what the others were thinking of me. But I shouldn't be afraid of proving that I indeed can keep up with those expectations. "Thank you. I think I now know what to do."

Histoire let out a small laugh. "Very well. If you'll excuse me now, I still have matters to attend to." And with that, Histoire left my room and closed the door behind me. "After all, you were born because of that exponential growth in shares." She said under her breath after leaving the room.

Now that I really think about it, I have no reason whatsoever to doubt myself. I really feel like I can do this.

* * *

 **Entry number 31**

 **Planeptune bassilicom**

 **POV: Lilith**

Another week has passed since my little scuffle with Uni. Uni and Nepgear managed to beat CFW Brave in Lastation and the rest of us managed to get the help of Rom and Ram after saving them from CFW Trick. He still gives me the creeps. How does someone heal themselves by licking their wounds that quickly? That would be handy thought… But disgusting.

Right now all the oracles have gathered and are filling us in on how to rescue the CPUs from the Gamindustri Graveyard.

"Allow me to explain." Histoire started. "Kei has been able to develop a device that can amplify the power of sharicite. The device was made from the materials you had gathered for her before. By tomorrow morning, the sharicite will be ready. Prepare to return to the Gamindustri Graveyard."

…

…

…

 **Undocumented entry**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"…hm… Oi. Lily. Help me out here."

"Hm? It's… one o'clock in the morning. Why are you still up? I'm trying to sleep here."

"I'm trying to finish this entry but… Nothing eventful really happened during the briefing with the oracles, right?"

"What about Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram all playing that one stupid game together on that one console?"

"Why would I want to write that down?"

"… Go to sleep. Just write about tomorrow's rescue mission or something, okay?"

"I can't write about what hasn't happened yet."

"…"

"…Lily?"

"…zzz" Lilith let out a soft snore.

"… Thanks for the help."

I continued writing about today.

 _Also Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram were playing some Plumber Go-Kart 46 together. I think Ram took it with her from Lowee. Nepgear managed to win the first grand Prix, while Ram won the second. The third ended up being a tie between Uni and Rom._

"… Plot important scenes right here." I thought to myself while dropping my pen and while looking out the window. On one of the balconies, I could see Histoire conversing with the mascots we had gathered from each nation.

"Now that would make for a great entry… Except I'm not there… Or anyone that can write about it for that matter." I mumbled under my breath.

Maybe it was indeed to time to just go and sleep. After all, tomorrow's the day I'll finally get to meet the CPUs.

* * *

 **Entry number 32**

 **Gamindustri Graveyard**

 **POV: Uni**

"So this is Gamindustri Graveyard." I said. We were on a small hill and we could see most of the graveyard. It's so… desolate. Just being here gives me the chills.

"Yeah." IF responded while guiding us to CFW Judge. "We lost pretty badly last time we got here, It kind of hurts my pride to know where we're going."

"Don't worry Iffy." Compa reassured. "Now that Ge-Ge and the others are here, there's no way that big mean robot will beat us again."

"Uh-huh!" Ram Confirmed. "Don't forget about us. We've been training our butts off all week for this."

"Uh-huh." Rom added.

Lilith gave IF a firm pat on the back. "Same goes for us all. You haven't been slacking off while no one was looking, have you IF?"

"As if I'd do that." IF said with a serious look. I guess she's not in the mood for jokes right now. "I'm confident we can take him on with this many of us. I'm just worried some of us might get seriously injured."

Nepgear took a step forward, catching everyone's attention. "Don't you worry about it. I'll be sure to protect everyone."

"Nice confidence." I complimented. "Don't let it get to your head though."

"Hehe. Don't you worry, Uni. With you here, I'm certain nothing can stop us."

"I-… Of course nothing will happen to you. I'm here." I blushed. Dang. She stole my line right as I was about to say it.

Geoffrey coughed, trying to get everyone's attention. "I hate to interrupt the scene, but we got company." He pointed forward to a bunch of corrupted Pixelvaders. "I'd much rather get this over with ASAP. Who's with me?"

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Shouldn't you be happy?"

He turned to me with a confused look. "Happy? I'm still plenty of levels ahead of you guys. I don't need the extra training. Why would I be happy about this?"

I gave him mischievous smile. "Well instead of Pixelvaders. There could've been a pack of Dogo-"

"Stop right there!" Geoffrey interrupted, nearly yelling at me. "You're totally going out of character. That's my only concern here. Nothing else."

"… Why can't I tease you about something like that? How is that going out of character?"

"You're supposed to be a tsun. That's why."

"Wha-… No I'm not!" I stammered.

"Hey, you dummies. What are you doing?" Ram asked. "Help us fight these stupid monsters?"

"We're on our way." Geoffrey responded while taking out his journal and a vial.

I sighed before taking out my rifle. "I'm not that much of a tsundere, right?"

"GHAAA! I'm so bored!" A voice shouted. "Hey you! Make yourself useful and fight me!"

"W-what? No way, boss. I wouldn't last a second." Underling slowly backed off from CFW Judge who was furiously swinging his axe as a warm-up.

We fought off a couple more monsters before we got here. But looks like we're right on time.

"Underlings like you should satisfy the boss's needs and help him vent his stress with your body, chu." Warechu stated. I'm sure he doesn't realise it himself, but that just sounds wrong.

"GHAA! Enough chatter! I'll just destroy you both!" CFW Judge firmly grasped his axe and smashed the ground next to Underling and Warechu. "Whoa! H-hey now boss. You just went from fighting to murdering us."

"So… uhm… we should help them, right?" Nepgear asked the rest of us.

Lilith shrugged. "Probably. But let's split up. One of us go get the CPUs while the others distract and destroy Judge."

"Great idea, Lily." Geoffrey complied. "You go get the CPUs while we take on Judge."

"Wha-… Hey! I've only got one battle scene so far in this entire thing and it was a boring fight against you. I demand more screen time!"

Nepgear suddenly franticly looked around her, as if someone blew a dog whistle for her. "Huh? I thought I hear Neptune for a second. Did we already free her? Neptune?"

Geoffrey shook his head. "You must be imagining things. Whatever. Fine. I'll go do the bore chore. Can I have the Sharicite, Nepgear?"

"Sure thing. Here you go." She took the sharicite out of her pocket and handed it to Geoffrey. "Cheers." He replied.

"Now then. We should go all out from the start." I suggested. "This isn't going to be easy."

Ram shrugged. "Meh. We'll show how awesome Rom and I really are."

"We've been… training. Very hard." Rom added.

Suddenly, CFW Judge took notice of us.

"Huh? Oh! It's the weak little girls from last time!" Judge taunted. "I should get a few minutes of pleasure out of this. Gwahaha!"

"Here he comes! Get ready!" IF warned.

* * *

 **Hey y'all. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Like I said, I did skip a major part of the story (namely the introduction of Brave and Trick) because I couldn't really change those scenes too much to make them more interesting. Just so you know.**

 **Anyway, don't count on seeing the next chapter any time soon. I'll be pretty busy next week. It's either going to be 'get it done within the next few days' or 'get it done in two weeks.' But hey. We'll see. Cya guys around.**

 **-Porpol**


	10. Chapter 9: Calm Between the Storms

**Hey everyone. Thanks for being so patient with this one. Before you can read this chapter, please read the overly long author notes I made (or skip everything but the important note)**

 **It probably wasn't a great idea to leave the last chapter on such a cliff hanger and then delay the following chapter by nearly two weeks, but IRL stuff comes first.**

 **I did get quite a few ideas while I wasn't writing and I'll applying most of the things I've come up with. One of which is actually an increase on the word limit I've given myself for each chapter. Up until now each chapter was roughly around the 5k words, with the intend of staying bellow that amount. So for this chapter I didn't limit myself and reached about 7.5k words excluding the author notes. Let me know if you prefer the smaller chapters or the limitless ones.**

 **So up until now Geoffrey's mostly been just acting like a plot device I feel like. Sure, he's acting like intended (kinda straight forward, someone that doesn't waste time and a little cold) but he might seem a bit flat. So He's getting a bit of a 'get-to-know' in the second half of this chapter.**

 **Also, important note. Inspired by a few other stories, I decided to try something new. In the latter half of the story, I'll be recommending BGM tracks for you to play while reading said parts of the story. Of course, it's completely up to you if you want to listen to those tracks or listen to your music instead. **

**By adding them, I feel like you guys can kinda feel what kind of atmosphere certain scenes have. I didn't add any tracks just because I thought they were awesome. Sure, I like all of the tracks I've planned on adding, but my priority is still setting the mood. Anyway, right now I've only added music to two scenes. If it turns out people enjoy it, I might go back and add BGM's to other key scenes in the story (such as the prologue, the sneaky hotel scene in chapter 6 and a few battle scenes to name a few.)**

 **Also obligatory disclaimer of 'I do not own anything like suggested music' and that stuff (Reason why you won't see any fan remixes). Personally, I think it's obvious I don't own anything but the altered story and the OCs, but everyone does it so I guess I'll just follow the crowd.**

 **Lastly, quick reminder:**

 **-" _Uni's lines look like this._ "**

 _-" The figure's lines look like this."_

 **Anyway, Enjoy the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Calm Between the Storms**

 **Entry number 33 (continued)**

 **Gamindustri Graveyard**

 **POV: 3rd person**

"Die!" Judge cried while swinging his axe franticly at all of us. Judge was slow and predictable. All of his attacks were easily dodged or blocked by everyone. Judge had especially trouble with the transformed CPUs flying around him while attacking him from all directions. In fact, he hasn't hit any of us a single time yet.

"Ice Coffin!" Ram cried while creating a block of ice around Judge. "H-huh?" He swung his massive axe around him and broke free from his cold prison immediately. "What's a bit of snow going to do? Give me a cold shoulder? Gwahaha!"

While Judge wasn't able to do any damage to us, we weren't able to hurt Judge significantly either. Every time we managed to find an opening, he simply shook any attack off like it was nothing.

"My best guess would be that his armour is absorbing all the blows." Lilith thought. "He's got to have a weak spot somewhere, right?"

"Look out!" Uni cried. Lilith snapped back in reality only to be met with Uni tackling her out of the way of Judge's attack. "That was a close one. Pay more attention next time, alright?"

"R-right. My bad." she apologised. "Say, Uni. Did you find an opening yet?"

"I wish. This guy is taking a massive beating and he doesn't even budge in the slightest."

Nepgear charged the gun on her blade and aimed at Judge's head. "M.P.B.L. Fire!"

The beam made direct contact with Judge. For a moment he seemed to be dazed, but he quickly recovered from it. "Are trying to blind me again? I won't fall for the same trick twice!" He exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey was trying to free the CPUs from their… 'inappropriate' prison. "Stupid… annoying… plot… inconvenience." He quietly complained under his breath while trying to carefully burn through the tentacles with some chemical mixture. "Why can't I just use the sharicite and make the tentacles disappear that way? Why is this so difficult?"

Lilith quickly ran over to the chemist and tapped him on his shoulder. "Oi. Tag out with me would you. Maybe you can somehow burn through his armour with that stuff you got."

He didn't look up from his work as he answered. "I'm kind of almost done here. Just give me five more minutes."

"C'mon. We've been throwing everything we got at him for the last ten minutes. We need someone that can get through his armour."

It was then that judge noticed Lilith wasn't paying attention once again. "You're wide open, small fry!"

The ex-couple quickly turned to Judge, which swung his axe at them. Neither of them managed to get out of the way. the axe crushed them and the ground around them, creating a cloud of dust.

"L-lilith!" Nepgear and Uni cried in horror.

"Gwahahaha! Two down. Only a few more ants to go." Judge tried to raise his axe, but for some reason it was stuck to something. "What?"

As the dust cleared, everyone could clearly see the ex-couple standing their ground. Lilith had her blade out and was barely holding Judge's axe off with the tip of it. "R-… Riposte!" She cried as she counter Judge's attack with her special move, pushing him back.

With his guard down, Lilith quickly jumped up and lunged at one of the gaps between his armour. What should've been a critical hit turned out to be as ineffective as the other attacks. As the tried to stab him, a rainbow coloured barrier formed around the spot.

Lilith staggered back, quickly recovering from the failed attack. "What was that? Did anyone else see what just happened?"

"What the goodness." Nepgear said in surprise. "Why does he have a barrier protecting him?"

"Maybe he learned how to use magic like me and Ram." Rom suggested.

Ram shook her head. "Nuh-uh! That didn't even look closely like a magical barrier. He must be using some kind of computer shield."

IF then noticed something on the back of Judge's head. A small glowing device. "Hey. Everyone. There's something on the back of his head!"

Judge quickly put his off-hand on the back of his head in an attempt to cover the device. "I don't know what you're talking about!" He lied. "Enough chatting. Let's fight already!"

Judge's axe began to glow red as he charged a special attack. "Everyone, get back!" IF warned.

As Judge was done charging, he swung his axe straight down and smashed the ground, creating a large explosion around him.

However, everyone managed to get out of the way, because he was just too slow to keep up with them.

"Grr… Damn it! Why can't I hit any of you?" He asked in frustration.

Meanwhile Uni had snuck up behind Judge and was now aiming at the shielding device on his head. "There it is… Steady… Fire!"

She fired an explosive round, piercing the device and destroying Judge's shield. "What!? Why you little brat! I'll destroy you for that." Judge grabbed his axe with both his hands and swung it at Uni with great speed.

Because she didn't expect him to be this fast, she didn't get out of the way in time and got hit by his attack, sending her flying a few feet across the graveyard.

"Quick. Compa." IF called.

Compa nodded and ran towards Uni. "On my way. Hang in there!"

Now that Judge's shield was done, his speed was increased dramatically to the point where he managed to land a few good blows on everyone.

"Gwahaha! I don't need some stupid shield from some stupid girl to stomp all of you!" He taunted.

It was then that Geoffrey instantly stopped working on freeing the CPUs and turned to face Judge. "A shield from a girl?"

He took out his future journal and checked the entry related to the fight. As he suspected, it doesn't describe anything about a shield or a girl. "Hmm… Intriguing."

He then continued on getting the last CPU, Vert, out of her prison. "I'll keep that mind."

Judge fought fiercely, but now that his shield was down, he could no longer absorb the hits as well as before.

"Rom! Let's finish this together." Ram took hold of Rom's hand. Rom nodded in understanding as the both of them charged for a massive ice attack.

"Now!" Ram shouted. The both of them pointed their staves at Judge's legs, freezing them in a massive block of ice. "Huh!?"

"Now's my chance. Mirage dance!" Nepgear swiftly flew up to Judge's chest began attacking it using one of her special attacks, weakening the spot. "It's your turn Uni!"

"On it!" Uni loaded in an explosive round and opened fire. The impact of the bullet created a massive hole in his armour. "Finish this off, Lilith."

Lilith lunged towards the spot and pierced straight through it with her blade, Going straight through his chest and coming out of his back. "No evil is safe from my blade!" She shouted.

"AAAGH!" Judge cried in pain.

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"GYAAAAAA! NO! I HAVE-….. I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO DESTROY!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Judge slowly falling apart before exploding. Welp. Guess that's the end. And hey look. I managed to get the all four of the CPUs out of their weird tentacle prison. … Hm… Looks like no one's looking. Now might be the best time to take what I need.

I took four empty syringes labelled Purple, Green, White and Black out of my backpack and removed the safety cork from the needle.

"This may sting for a bit." I whispered to the unconscious CPUs. Before anyone noticed I injected a syringe in the right shoulder of each CPU and took a blood sample.

I quickly pocketed the samples and used the sharicite to awaken the CPUs.

"Like nothing ever happened." I thought.

As the sharicite radiated with light, the CPUs slowly regained consciousness.

Noire was the first to slowly open her eyes. "I see… a light." She slowly managed to push herself in a sitting position and tried to get a good glance of her saviours.

Vert followed suit and slowly managed to get on her knees. "I feel… a warmth."

Blanc and Neptune both managed to stand. They both stumbled for a bit, but they instantly managed to stand straight. "I can… I see Rom and Ram." Blanc slowly stumbled towards the twins.

"Blanc!" Both twins called at the same time before jumping on her for a hug.

"Oomph. R-rom? Ram? What are you two doing here?"

Neither one answered Blanc's question. All they could do was cry in joy. "Blanc. Blanc. Wahhh!" Ram sobbed.

"It's alright. We just got reunited after such a long time. How about you two stop crying, alright?"

Noire then managed to get back on her feet. Uni rushed towards her big sister, but halted herself a few feet before her.

"Geez, Uni. I figured you'd try and come to my aid a little faster. What took you so long?"

"I-I'm sorry! I tried so hard and came as soon as I could and-"

Noire put her hand on Uni's should and looked her in the eyes. "Don't apologise. I can tell just how much stronger you've become. Thanks for coming." She thanked while giving her a thumbs up.

"N-Noire." Uni could no longer hold her tears back and embraced her in a hug. "I've missed you so much Noire."

Nepgear rushed to Neptune's side to help her keep her balance. "Neptune. Is it really you? I'm not dreaming or anything, right?"

Neptune smiled. "Nep jr. This is as real as it can get. You've done very well. I'm proud of you." Neptune praised.

I tapped Lilith on her shoulder and whispered something to her. "How much you wanna bet she's gonna burst into tears and embrace her in a hug?" I joked.

"Shh! I'm-… I'm watching this."

I took a closer look at Lilith's face. she was on the verge of crying. "Caught something in your eye?"

"S-shut it you heartless barbarian."

It was then that Nepgear embraced Neptune in a hug and burst into tears. "Neptune! Neptune!"

I then noticed Vert was standing isolated from the rest of the group… Oh. I forgot. Leanbox doesn't have a CPU candidate.

"My. I am so envious. And here I am without a sister to embrace me after so long." She then noticed me and Lilith looking at her. "Hm? And who might you two be?"

"Oh… Uhm. Heya. You can call me Lilith. And this fella's Geoffrey."

"Yo."

"Hmm…" Vert inspected the both of us with narrowed eyes.

"Uhm… Is there something between my teeth?" I asked. "Is that why you're looking at us like that?"

"Oh, not at all. Pardon me." Vert apologised. "I was just thinking about something."

"What's that?" Lilith asked.

"I was just wonder, are you two perhaps dating?"… Eh?

Lilith and I looked at each other. After a few seconds, we both of us burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Bwahaha… Us? D-dating?.. Heh.. Ahaha!" Lilith nearly fell over, but quickly regained her balance.

"Okay… heh… I- eheh. I think I'm.. I'm done now." I said while still chuckling a little. "Anyway, no we're not dating. Why'd you ask?"

"Oh, for no reason in particular." She replied.

"Did you just… Make your breast bounce on purpose?" Lilith asked in a stern tone. "Hey Geoff, you noticed it too, right?"

"Noticed what?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Vert denied while obviously making her breast bounce once more.

"Missed it again?" She asked.

"… No, That time I also noticed it, Lily."

Vert gave us an innocent smile. "I honestly still have no idea what you two are talking about."

Lilith glared at Vert for a moment. "Right… Cool… Let's go Geoff." She grabbed me by my collar and pulled me with her.

"Blech. H-hey. What are you doing!?"

My question was ignored and she continued to pull me towards the exit.

"… He's kind of cute. I wonder if I should…eheh." Vert giggled.

* * *

 **Entry number 35**

 **Planeptune bassilicom**

 **POV: Lilith**

It's been a few days since we rescued the CPUs from the Graveyard. Contrary to what should've happened according to the future journal, ASIC was laying low and none of their grunts were making an effort on trying to take away shares for their deity.

Geoffrey was slightly worried and uneasy about the whole situation, but he ultimately decided to not do anything rash and instead go do some work in the storage room he claimed of his own as a laboratory some time ago. I don't have any idea what he's working on, but it's probably not that interesting anyway.

As of right now, the CPUs have just recovered from being captured and were now ready to return to their respective nations to fix all the damage ASIC has dealt during their absence.

"Aww… But we just got out and about. Do you gals really want to leave already?" Neptune complained. "Why not stay a little longer?"

"Sorry Neptune. I take Lowee's safety over your pleasure." Blanc immediately shot Neptune's offer down.

"Yeah. We've all been gone for far too long." Noire agreed. "Who knows what those crooks have done to my nation."

"D'aww… shucks…" Neptune then noticed a certain well-developed CPU wasn't with the others. "Say… Have any of you seen Vert? You'd say she's the first to run back to her room to play all those games she missed out on in the last three years."

Noire shrugged. "I haven't seen her either. Maybe she already left."

It was then that Uni and the twins came walking down the hallway.

"Alright Noire. I'm ready to go." Uni said.

"Good. Let's not waste any more time then." Noire said as she and Uni left the bassilicom.

"Good bye Lilith. Bye Nepgear." Uni waved to her friends.

"Bye Uni." I called back. Nepgear looked a bit sad that she was leaving so soon, but she understood Uni had work to do as Lastation's CPU candidate.

"Yay. We can finally show Blanc all the cool drawing we made for her." Ram cheered.

Blanc quickly realised whenever Rom and Ram made 'cool drawings', her books were the first to fall victim of their creative artwork. "O-oh… Yeah. I can't wait…" She hesitantly said with a fake smile as she walked after the twins.

"And there they go." Neptune sighed. "Welp. I guess I'll go play some games while-"

"Ahem." Histoire cleared her throat.

"Oh. Histy? Since when were you here? What's the matter? Caught a cold?"

"Neptune. It has been three years since you've left. Just how much work do you think you have to do?"

Neptune shrugged. "Probably not a lot. I mean, you and Nepgear managed to keep the nation running fairly well and-"

"Nonsense!" Histoire exclaimed. "You are going to perform your CPU duties right now."

"Eek. A-alright, fine. Just this once… But first. I gotta do something really quick."

Neptune turned her back to Histoire and looked up at the ceiling. "Uhm, hello! Yeah. Readers. Hello. Neptune here. I was meant to hold on to this, but I kinda don't really need it. So you can guys can have it."

She reached into her pocket and took out a grey rusty key.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I dunno." Neptune replied as she held the keep up above her head. "But it's a really cool plot device for the readers."

The key then blinked out of existence, as if someone had grabbed it and took it into another dimension.

 _You got a key._

-" ** _So.. Since we are reading this right now. Does that mean we were supposed to get the key?._** "

-" _To be honest, I have no idea. Probably just Neptune being weird and trying to get attention or something."_

"… I don't get it." I stated.

"Don't worry. Neptune does… questionable things like these on a regular basis." Nepgear assured.

Histoire then pulled Neptune to her office by her ear. It was a kind of comical sight, considering how small Histoire is.

"Nepu! Ow owow! Histy! Don't be so rough. You're gonna rip my ear off at this rate!"

Histoire ignored Neptune's pleas and kept on tugging her to her office.

"… So." I turned to Nepgear. "you wanna play some Neptris while they're gone?"

"Sure. I'm already done for today, so I have time to kill for the rest of the day."

As we made our way over to the living room, we ran into Geoffrey followed by the CPU of Leanbox. "For the last time, I am NOT coming with you to help you out in Leanbox. Do you know how much packing I'd have to do?"

"Oh. You're still here Vert?" Nepgear asked.

"Hm? Why, yes. is that so surprising? Am I perhaps not welcome here anymore?"

"N-no. That's not it. It's just that the others have already left and we thought you had left before them."

"I see. The reason why I haven't returned home yet is because I tried to take this handsome fellow with me." She pinched Geoffrey's cheek as she called him handsome.

"H-hey!... Wait, what do you mean handsome? Is this the face of someone that looks even slightly amused by your compliment?" He pulled an over the top sour face, implying that he was not amused in the slightest."

"If you put it like that, I guess you do have a point." She sweat dropped. "I just thought you might have wanted a change of scenery. You've been holed up in that storage room for the past few days now."

"That ain't true." Geoffrey denied. "I've been visiting you during your recove-" he quickly stopped himself as I glared at him.

"Did you say something, Geoff."

He cleared his throat and averted my gaze. "What I meant to say was that I've been taking regular… uhm… B-bathroom breaks. And showers. And sleeps. And not admitting on seeing another woman to my ex-wife."

"That's sort of better."

Vert sighed. "Well.. I guess it can't be helped. If you don't want to tag along, I suppose I'll go back on my own. Unless my dear sister Nepgear would like to come in his place."

"Hey!" Neptune yelled from across the hallway. "She's my adorable kid sister. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Weren't you in your office working?" I asked.

"Of course." She confirmed while walking towards us. "I'm just claiming my break."

"… How long does this break last?" Geoffrey asked.

"Two weeks."

"…"

Everyone fell silent. Yep. I think I'm getting a pretty good first impression of this girl.

"So… you always this lazy?" I asked.

"Only when the author of said story allows me to be." She nonchalantly stated.

"Author?" Geoffrey asked.

"Yeah. Author."

"…"  
"…"

Geoffrey raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. "You say it like someone's writing this stuff as if it's a poor fanfic or something and he's gonna ship me with the Vert, give Nepgear a twin sister and give Lilith some kind of friendship cannon that destroys all antagonists in one scene.." he mocked.

Neptune's eyes went wide with surprise. "Whoa there cowboy. You're far closer to the truth than you realise… Except for your last three predictions. All those ideas sound terrible."

"I don't believe you… Not even slightly."

Neptune put her index finger on her chin, trying to figure out how to prove she wasn't lying. She then snapped her fingers as she got an idea.

"Wait right here."

She turned around and ran off.

Geoffrey simply had this expression saying something among the lines of 'This girl is such a pain'

"…So, Vert. does that offer still stand?"

Vert's eyes beamed with joy when she heard those words. "Did you Change your mind?"

"After hearing that nonsense, I don't think I'll get along with that girl. How old is she again?"

"A couple centuries." Nepgear informed.

"… Excuse me?"

"I'm back!" Neptune came running back while waving a sheet of paper. "Here. Read this. I totally stole this from the author's office.

"What's this?" He asked before reading what was on the page out loud.

* * *

 _Entry number 0_

 _…_

 _Lucian exited the lab and headed for the front door. As he opened the door, he was greeted with the wintery landscape. He-_

…

* * *

"O-oh. That's mine." Geoffrey coughed while blushing. "I, uhm… I must've dropped this while erm… How'd you get your pawns on that?" He quickly folded the page and put it in his breast pocket.

"Like I said. I stole it from the author."

"… Am I the author?" He asked while pointing at himself.

"Nope. Not even close."

"… Can we just get back on track with why you're here and not working?"

Neptune shook her head and pouted. "I told you, I'm on my hard-earned break."

"Neptune. You really should get back to work." Nepgear tried to convince her big sister. "Histoire and I have both been working very hard while you were gone and-"

"Found her." IF quickly grabbed Neptune's hands and put handcuffs on them.

"Wha? Le Gasp! Iffy. How could you?"

"Simple. Like this." IF pulled Neptune by her handcuffs and dragged her back to her office. "No wait! Iffy! Don't do this!"

"… I'll pack my stuff so we can leave." Geoffrey stated.

"Very well." Vert walked past me and Nepgear and headed for the main hallway. "I'll be waiting for you in the main hall. See you there."

"Welp. Cya later Lily." He then turned around and headed for our room.

"…Oi. Geoff." I called after him.

"Hm? What's up?"

I glared at him, trying to look as serious as I could. "… Don't do anything funky."

"… Hmpf" He scoffed and walked off.

* * *

 **Entry number 36**

 **Leanbox bassilicom**

 **POV: Vert**

"We're here." I announced as I opened the front door of the bassilicom.

We both stepped inside. "This place looks a lot better when it isn't being ransacked by ASIC goons."

I laughed at his comment. "Ah. Yes. You did say you've been to Leanbox before, right?"

"Yeah. We rescued Chika back then. I think we also nearly died… So nothing new there." He proudly said.

"Don't let it get to your head." I sweat dropped. "Now then. I've already informed Chika you were coming along. She's probably waiting in her office. I assume you know where it is?"

" Second floor, west wing, second door on the left, right hand side." He said while pointing towards the east wing.

"Yes…" Grabbed his pointing hand and turned it towards the west wing. "the west wing is that way."

"Uhm… Yeah. Just like I said." He quickly paced off.

"Also, come meet me in my room in an hour." I called after him.

* * *

The reason I invited him over wasn't just because I thought he looked cute or handsome. I just wanted a little help. ASIC has been ravaging Leanbox in my absence and I want all the help I can get. He looks like he can handle himself pretty well. Plus, I need someone to help me clear some of my multiplayer games with. Of course, Chika could also help me with this, if it wasn't for her busy schedule.

I do have to admit though, he doesn't look half bad. He looks to be around my age (ignoring the fact we goddesses are ageless) and he was pretty nice to me when I was still recovering. He even allowed me to borrow his phone to play some of his mobile games on them. Sure, none of them were that great, but it's the thought that counts.

I heard someone softly knock on my door. "Come in."

"Can Lady Vert come out to play?" He joked.

"What's with the formalities?" I asked. "Did you suddenly get cold feet?"

He made a warm smile. "Not at all."

Geoffrey walked towards the couch I'd been sitting on and sat down next to me. "So how did you want to spend your free time? Or did you call me here so we could get to work?"

"Neither. I just wanted to talk for a bit?"

He raised an eye brow. "Talk?"

I nodded. "Indeed. I just wanted to sit down for a moment and get to know each other a little better. You asked me a lot of questions back when I was still recovering,. It's only fair I get to ask you some too, right?"

"Two questions isn't really that many. And one of those two was 'You know where the bathroom is, right?'"

I ignored his counter argument and asked my first question. "So you said you're a chemist, right? Seems like an interesting job. Tell me about it."

"Eh?" His expression was a mixture between surprise and happiness. "You want me to talk about my job? Well… where to start?

It all started back in… bla bla bla… but I was always interested in chemistry so I… bla bla bla… We call this mixture 'water' … bla bla bla… Which is what we call a sample, so we can accurately recreate a… bla bla bla… And then I set up my own company, T.O.W. which stands for 'Top of the world', this quote comes from my father which … bla bla bla… So I inherited the mansion and the entire fortune and with that money I began my own company like I stated before so… bla bla bla… And back those days we still had employees that weren't complete mental defective and the main building wasn't redesigned to be even worse by the vice-president of the company and… bla bla bla… But beside that… bla bla bla… you should probably pay close attention to the lines that aren't completely non-sense… bla bla bla… I thought I was done for, but then… bla bla bla… Of course as the president of the company, I was held responsible for the incident, so I ended up paying the medical bill myself anyway but before that I… bla bla bla… And then I got bored and walked away… bla bla bla… So I could fly… bla bla bla… But first let's talk about parallel universes …bla bla bla… And this concludes my story on my job and the company I worked for and how it slowly all went downhill as we expanded it to be a global organisation. Any questions?

I wasn't really able to follow his story at all. I think it was a poor choice to make him talk about his job.

-" ** _To be honest, I wouldn't have read any of it either."_**

"I… uhm… I see." I replied with in a casual fashion, trying to hide the fact I learned nothing about him through his lecture.

"So… uhm… Maybe you should talk a little more about yourself instead of your job." I suggested.

"Hm? Myself?" He asked. "… Like what?"

"Well… just anything will be fine."

He made another smile. "Ah. I'm glad you asked. You see, my job involves-"

"N-no! Not again!" I exclaimed. "I mean, uhm… what kind of games do you like?"

"Eh?" He made a disappointed expression as I turned him down. "Well… I like all sorts of games, I guess. Mostly old-school and competitive stuff though."

"I see…"

"…"

"…"

"Uhm… Don't you have anything else to tell me?" I awkwardly asked. "Like… what about your school life? Or what about your parents? Don't you have a backstory beside your job?"

He shrugged. "Not one I'm really going to share just willy nilly. It kind of would bring the mood down if I did."

I was slightly taken aback by his response. "Oh? Is it that bad?"

He shook his head. "So… you said you're a gamer, right? Feel like going for a few rounds? "

I guess I'll have to find another way to get him to talk about it. Sure, it's not very CPU-like to dig into someone's past like that, but now I'm just curious.

"Oh? You dare challenge me, Green Heart in a game? I must warn you, I never back down from any challenge."

"I do." He confirmed. "And because we're on your home turf, why don't you pick something."

I smirked. This could get interesting. "I see. You must be very confident to challenge me so blindly in a game of my picking."

I got up and headed for the cabinet with all my handheld games. "You do have a 4DS system, do you not?"

"You mean this thing?" He asked while holding a bright Purple with black 4DS.

"Indeed. We'll be playing a game of Neptris: Combat."

Neptris: Combat is an old game that has you match blocks of the same type before they reach the top of the screen You can also fill up your opponent's grid faster by making combo's. The only difference between Neptris and Tetris in this Neptris' case you also have to defend your own avatar from your opponent's avatar, making the game quite intense, considering you have to manage both the puzzle grid and your avatar at the same time.

So basically, just Tetris Attack with an element of street fighter.

"What, that silly kids game? I pretty much beat Neptune like twelve times in a row with that one. I think we should play something a little more challenging."

I shook my head and booted the game up. "One cannot simply consider Neptris: Combat a kids game. Here. I'll show you what a real opponent can do."

"Pff. Fine."

We loaded into the lobby and both our avatars appeared on the top screen while a puzzle grid shaped itself on the bottom screen.

Our avatars basically look like chibby versions of ourselves. The game developers actually only created a handful of characters to choose from. These included all CPUs and CPU candidates, the four companions of the CPUs (IF, Compa, Lilith and Geoffrey) and a few celebrities and other well-known people such as Nisa and 5pb.

 _3...2…1…_

Geoffrey looked up from his 4DS "Okay, just saying, if I beat you in this, don't go bawling abou-"

 _GAME SET!_

"…Wha?" He quickly looked back down. On his screen 'Defeat' was being displayed in bright red letters. I managed to fill up his puzzle grid and defeat his avatar at the same time within just seconds.

"Perhaps you'll take this game more seriously now?"

"… I'll show no mercy." He calmly said, looking slightly excited.

Now the both of us were ready for an all-out match.

 **BGM: Stage 13 – Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine**

 _3…2…1…_

 _GO!_

I started with an aggressive move down on the puzzle grid. Most newbies make the mistake of trying to kill the opponent's avatar first and then forget all about the grid and lose that way. I matched several blocks in rapid succession, creating a massive block on Geoffrey's grid, almost reaching the top.

"Looks like you've already lost." I declared.

"As if. I've got this game already planned out from beginning to end."

I had already noticed he had crippled my avatar down to half hp. But if he didn't clear the grid any time soon, he'd lose anyway. Is he really making such a newbie mistake?

I quickly put my avatar in a defensive position and continued to match blocks on my grid. I then noticed Geoffrey's grid was now nearly empty again. "I'm three steps ahead of you."

Oh. I see what he's doing. He's defending his grid while taking his avatar on the offensive, while I am attacking his grid and defending my avatar. In theory he could defend his grid indefinitely, but I can't defend my avatar for as long since you can't regenerate any HP you lose.

I quickly cleared most of my grid and switched to my avatar to quickly counter some of his attacks. He didn't sit still either, though. Even though he was doing an okay job at defending his avatar, he managed to occasionally alter to his puzzle grid to make a quick combo, causing my grid to quickly fill with blocks. At this rate, I'll lose both my avatar and my grid.

"I have to think of something and fast. I need to become the proactive player instead of the reactive one." I thought.

The match had dragged on for far longer than usual. Usually one match takes about a minute or two. but this time the both of us were locked in the fierce match for nearly ten minutes now.

Geoffrey wasn't slowing down at all. He managed to get my avatar down to 10% while keeping his at a steady 25%. Both puzzle grids were pretty much nearly full at all time right now. As any of us cleared any barricade blocks the opponent had thrown at us another took its place. In other words, I managed to draw him away from the top screen and forced him to stay on the bottom screen. As long as I can keep him down here or defeat him by filling his grid, I'll win the match.

"Not bad." He calmly said while clearing a quarter of his grid.

"You're not half bad either." I smirked. "I can see when I've won or lost. And right now it's still anyone's game."

"Is that so?" He asked rhetorically. "Then how about thi-"

"Denied!" I exclaimed, filling his grit to one block away from defeat.

 **BGM change: Dr. R's in Danger! – Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine**

"W-what the hell!?" Some sweat formed on his forehead. He tried to clear the blocks as fast as he could.

I couldn't finish him off through the grid, since I was out of usable blocks. But with my grid cleared for three quarters, I now had time to quickly get a couple of hits in on his avatar.

"Oh no you don't!"

Before I could hit him, he quickly pulled his avatar back and then immediately returned to the grid. A very risky move, considering his grid was still nearly full.

He kept on doing this until he managed to get his grid down to about three quarters. Because of this I couldn't get any full combo's on him. Now both our characters were down to exactly 4%.

He clicked his tongue in frustration. "I have you right where I want you."

"Is that so?" I taunted. "Then how about… this!"

Even with my grid nearly full, I quickly rushed his avatar for the last hits. "H-hey! Oh no!" He yelped in surprise.

 _GAME SET!_

 _Green_Heart wins!_

 **BGM end**

"… You seriously just rushed me even when you were about three blocks away from losing your grid." He put both his hand on his face, as if doing a double facepalm.

I chuckled. "I knew you'd never expect it. Even a seasoned veteran wouldn't have been able to predict such a clutch move."

He laughed at my explanation. "Man, I really thought I had you when I crippled you down to 50% at the start." He cheerfully replied. "Most people don't know how to alter between the top- and bottom screen like I do, so they usually think I'm making a rookie mistake by going for the avatar instantly."

"While in fact you were defending your grid the whole time while going offensive on the top screen." I added. "A clever strategy. I didn't notice it at first, but now that I know your playstyle, I'm guaranteed to win any future matches."

"I got more than one playstyle." He proudly declared. "But man… I don't think I've been this excited in nearly a century. Best out of three?

"Best out of three." I agreed.

In end we played about twenty more matches. I won most of them by a small margin, but he managed to completely dominate some of them by setting me up in the first minute. All in all, I feel like he opened up to me a little more.

* * *

 **Entry number 37**

 **Leanbox bassilicom – Vert's office**

 **POV: Vert**

" _Excuse me, what?"_ Lilith asked.

Just now I had called Lilith on Spyke's Voice-chat to help me out to learn a little more about Geoffrey. About three weeks of gaming and questing have passed and he still hadn't been too keen on telling me about himself.

"He isn't very talkative about what he did before getting his job. Do you perhaps know anything about this?"

" _Well, to be honest… Not really."_

"Huh?"

 _"Yeah… He never really told me anything about what he did before he got his job either. What I do know is that he inherited his position from his father, which vanished without a trace."_

"How peculiar."

 _"It gets weirder. His father wasn't even known to have a son. And to make it even more mysterious, his grandfather was also involved in a mysterious disappearance and wasn't even known to have a son either."_

"That… certainly is strange. So… how do you know about all of this?"

" _Well, beside all the media-coverage it got, I also managed to get some info out of him."_

"How did you manage to do that?"

 _"Get him drunk."_

"Pardon?"

 _"Yeah. He has a very low tolerance for-"_

"Just a second. Can we really use adult-themes in a T-rated story?"

 _"You sound like Neptune… Anyway, don't worry about it. We call it Nepsi and said it was a fizzy drink. No one can complain about it."_

"… Somehow I'm even less certain about it now."

It was then that another cheery goddess took over the mic and butted in.

" _Hey Vert. You there? Okay. Point is, most people that play our games and actually look up fanfics about us probably would already know drinking that stuff is bad snuff. So… it's passable?"_

"I suppose so."

 _"Ahem"_ Lilith resumed. _"So anyway. Just give him about four cans of Nepsi and some cooked shrimp (he loves that stuff), and wait about ten minutes."_

"I'll keep your advice in mind… But it feels wrong to misuse someone like that."

" _Don't sweat it. Just because he isn't comfortable talking about it doesn't mean he doesn't want us to know, right?_

"That's no consolation."

 _"Anyway, Just make sure you lock all doors and windows. He has a tendency to walk off and stagger around into dangerous situations when he's like that."_

I sighed. "You say it like I'm actually going to do this."

" _I'd rather have you do this than try and seduce him."_ She quietly mumbled.

"Did you say something?"

 _"Just your ima-kggg-on. I think-kggg-the call-kgg-losing con-kggg-"_

She then hung up.

"She could've just hung up properly." I sweat dropped.

I heard a someone knocking on my door, so I got up and let whoever did in. "Oh. Chika. What's the matter?"

Chika walked past me and put a stack of paperwork on my desk. "I'm kind of busy right now. I just wanted to ask if you could sign all of these."

"Very well. Don't overwork yourself, Chika."

She nodded and headed for the door.

"Oh. Chika. Before you leave, have you seen Geoffrey today?"

"I think he's currently out questing. He should be back in an hour." She replied before closing the door behind her.

"One hour. More than enough time to get my work done and take a few cans of Nepsi out of the fridge."

After about an hour and a half I managed to get all preparations done. It took a little longer than expected, but I got it done, nonetheless.

I knocked Geoffrey's door. I could hear the TV was turned up to a high volume, so he may have not heard me the first time. I knocked again. Finally, he called "Come in."

I opened the door and was graced with a rather strange sight.

Geoffrey was laying on bed while watching TV and texting at the same time. He also had taken off his usual Lumberjack shirt and was now just wearing his white T-shirt. On the nightstand beside him were several empty bags of chips.

"I didn't really expect him to be this sloppy in his free time." I thought.

On TV, the Gamindustri News was being broadcast.

"…-And that is why the Goddess of Planeptune, Purple Heart, has invented a new verb. 'Nep-nep'. For example: Let's Nep-nep, I Nep-nep, You Nep-nepd, We have Nep-Nepped, I have Nep-ne-"

Before she could finish, Geoffrey turned the TV off. He then turned to me. "Is this how you four spend your time? Making useless things like turning your own name into a verb?"

"Well… No. Neptune is just a special case. She once tried to implement a new measurement. The Nep."

"… Someone is obsessed with their own name. Maybe I should also just go "Geoffu!" instead of that weird 'Nepu' catchphrase she has." He mocked. "So, anyway. What's up?"

"Not much. I just wanted to thank you for your hard work over a cold drink and some cooked shrimp."

"Did you just say shrimp and cooked in one sentence?"

"Indeed. Why don't we eat it in my room?"

-" ** _About ten minutes later_** "

 **BGM: Rusty Bucket Bay (Crew's quarters) – Banjo-Kazooie**

"Ooooh~ that b-boat of ya in the peeble…" He rambled in a drunken fashion.

I took a sip from my green leaf tea. "So how are you feeling?"

"I take 'em to the adorable pup' store in pup town popupatupt by you… and… you were there and… eh~…"

He's only had three cans of Nepsi so far and he's already speaking non-sense. Well, I guess I should give it a shot now. "So… Geoffrey. What do you think about everyone else?"

"Ehhhh~…. You a cuut woman, Nert…"

"It's Vert." I corrected while trying to hold my laughter. "But thank you for the compliment."

"Nep'z a lil' annoyin'… Just… Juzz a big waze of time and waze of goddood." He continued. "Also… I-.. I-… Lily is a-" He suddenly embraced me in a hug and fell asleep mid-sentence. "…Zzz….."

"Uhm…" I shook him a few times in an attempt to wake him up.

"Huh? Wha~?" He mumbled. "Oh… Rite… Erm… Tsun sister 'n Blanny are okey… Errr… Kiddos made snow. I hate snow. I do nut lick kiddos."

By now it was almost impossible for me to hold my laughter. "Anyway, can I ask you one more question." I said while letting out a few laughs under my breath.

"Shore."

"What can you tell me about your life before your job?"

For a moment he kept silent before staring me right in the eyes. "Ya gonna need more Nepsi for that." He said before chugging another can of Nepsi.

"Alrife. Enoufh Nessi *hic*. T'was tis many yeafs ago" He said while holding up all of his fingers.

"like… at leaft *hic* fifteen." He yelled as he said fifteen.

"If I may, that's not exactly fifteen fingers." I corrected.

"Well. Den dis many finners!" He proudly raised his hand again holding up four finger.

"I waz like… little kiddo. Ya now wat I mean? So den… den daddy said 'imma give you immorality' and I waz like 'AYE!'. But den… den it waz kinda hazy. I think me dad *hic*… I think me dad poked me a lot or sumtin'… *hic*"

He then nodded off to dreamland again. I suppose that was the drunken version of his backstory. But I no idea what his dad really did to and if it was supposed to be good or bad.

"Oh well. I suppose it will do. I'll just ask Lilith about it later. Maybe she can make sense out of this story."

 **BGM end**

I took the tray with empty cans of Nepsi and Tea cups and headed for the kitchen.

When I got back, I my heart skipped a beat.

"Uhm… G-Geoffrey? Are you still here?...Geoffrey? Oh dear. This can't be good."

 **POV: 3rd person**

 **Leanbox – Central square**

Today was awfully quiet. Most people were either at work during this time or simply didn't feel like going outside with this heat. Even the police force didn't patrol any of the streets right now because of it. The streets were completely deserted.

Or they would've been if it wasn't for a lone man stumbling and skipping across the streets, heading towards one of the dungeons while rambling in drunken fashion.

"Ueh yae, going to the pup boat in pup city *hic* into pup country… Heeh~"

* * *

 **And thus the longest chapter yet has come to an end.**

 **Anyway, hope this and the now available Forbidden entries made up for the huge gap between chapters. I worked pretty hard on managing the latter, so be sure to check it out since a certain protagonist / heroine just casually handed you a pretty looking key… Just spelling it out for those who didn't get it.**

 **Also, feel free to let me know what you think about the added BGM. I think the two (or technicly 3) I used are pretty suiting, but I'd be happy to hear what you guys think.**

 **Also I feel like I took a big step with the story. mostly talking about the final scene's suggest of alcohol usage. I'd feel bad if I had to change the story's rating to M just because of this one scene, but I think I'm still borderline T-rating here with how I wrote it.**

 **Next few weeks are a little less troublesome, so you can expect the following chapters to pop up a lot sooner.**

 **Until then.**

 **-Porpol**


	11. Chapter 10: Citizens of Gamindustri

**Hey everyone. Don't have a lot to say about this one. It's a little later than I wanted it to be, but it's here nonetheless. If you want to know why it took a little, it wasn't because of time issues but because I just ran out of ideas on how to deliver the first part. In the end I had three different situations Geoffrey could've stumbled in. Of course I can only pick one, so it's going to be this one.**

 **Also a little sad there wasn't any feedback on the BGM from last chapter, but hey. No complains means no one dislikes it, so I'll continue to occasionally suggest BGM. But I won't be adding any to older chapters yet (or at all).**

 **Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Citizens of Gamindustri**

 **Entry number 38**

 **Unknown location**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

 **BGM: The Kalos Powerplant – Pokémon X and Y**

"…"

"…"

"Ugh… My head…"

I woke up with a massive headache. It feels as if someone just hit me with a brick on the back of my head… and then hit me with a truck… and then proceeded to hit me with the brick again just to add insult to injury.

I opened my eyes to find myself in a compact concrete room with a steel door and iron bars barring the window.

Am I in prison? What the heck did I do before I got here?

I got up from the bed and checked the door.

"Locked. Of course. Uhm, hello!? Is anyone there?" I called hoping one of the guards could explain what happened.

No response.

I put my ear on the door in attempt to hear whatever is happening on the other side. Then again, it's a steel door so it's very unlikely I'll be able to hear anything through it.

As if I jinxed myself, I could hear two faint voices talking to each other.

"Whoa, dude, he's awake. Should we inform Rei?" A deep voice asked.

"Wha? Nah dude, we got this." A slightly higher voice replied. "Just remember. We took all his gear, he ain't gonna do anything without 'em."

Rei… That name sounds familiar. Wait, they took all my gear. So they took my backpack. Which has the journals. Oh boy, I really hope they haven't read any of it. For their sake and for mine.

The door's lock clicked open. In response, I took a step back.

When the door opened I got a clear view of two captors. A young man with torn jeans and a plain grey T-shirt with a strange logo on his chest with the letters C and G.

The more muscular man behind him had a similar outfit, with the exception his pants were still whole and he wears red cap with the same initials.

"Yo, dude. Wassup?" the younger one asked in a very uncanny way.

I could only frown at this. "Uhm… Not much, I guess. It's kinda claustrophobic in here. Mind telling me why you two put me in here?"

The big guy smirked at my question. "Whoa, chill out dude. We just wanna talk."

"…Talk?"

"Yeah man. We totally found ya unconscious in the middle of some dungeon covered in Dogoo slime. We got ya cleaned up and all and even took care of the scrapes you had, yo."

… I think I'll have to have a word with Vert after this. Last thing I remember is her inviting me over to have some shrimp. What did she do? Get me drunk or something? Might as well ask those two.

"So by any chance, was I holding on to any empty cans of Nepsi when you two found me?"

The two looked at each other before the younger one responded. "Bro… You were literally on a stack of empty cans of Nepsi. Heck, you've been in a coma for the last two weeks."

"T-TWO WEEKS!?" I exclaimed. I know my tolerance for that stuff very low, but that's insane. Also... "Where the heck are we now? Why'd neither of you bring me to a hospital?"

"Whoa whoa, slow down, will ya." The big guy waved his hands before him. "We just wanna ask ya a few questions before we let ya go. No harm done, 'kay?"

"Yeah. What he said." The other one confirmed. "Our boss Rei seems to have some strange interest in you and your girlfriend."

"My girlfriend?.. Oh, you must mean Lilith. Well, if you really want to ask abou-"

"Actually" the younger one interrupted "we were talking about the CPU of Leanbox, Green Heart."

"…"

"…"

"…"

This is going to be such a pain.

 **BGM end**

 **Meanwhile somewhere else**

 **POV: Noire**

"Are you sure this is the right place?" I asked Vert while inspecting the location.

"If my informants are correct, then this must be where he was last spotted before being taken away by two men." Vert assured. She looked around in an attempt to figure out where Geoffrey had been taken to.

I still can't believe she managed to convince me to come and help her.

-" ** _About an hour before all of this back in Lastation's bassilicom."_**

I was just done with all the paper work I had to fill in that day. It only took me an hour to do so. Which is weird, because even though ASIC wasn't as active as they used to be, they're still a nuisance for the entire nation. They're planning back and Lastation has to be ready for it.

As I was about to spend some alone time, I received a Spyke message.

"It's from Vert…" I opened the chat and read the message.

" _Hey Noire. Could you help me with something? I rly need an extra pair of hands :c"_

It's not like Vert to ask for help just willy nilly like that. But I can't just leave her hanging.

 _"What do you need? Don't you have that guy to help you out?"_ I replied.

 _"Thats just it. He wandered off and now I cant find him anymore. Hes been gone for nearly two weeks now! D:"_

He wandered off? What the heck did she do to him for him to just run out and disappear like that?

" _What did you do?"_

 _"Nothing."_

As if I'd believe that. I decided to wait a few seconds before writing a reply.

Vert eventually followed up on her previous message. " _Okay I may have done something and now im worried he might be in trouble. Pls help."_

This is something between Vert and him. They probably got in a fight and he ran off. He's probably just staying in a random hotel in Leanbox.

 _"Im busy. Cant help."_

She didn't respond, so I went ahead and opened another tab. I should check my Chirper. Maybe I've got a new follower.

Right as I was about to check, Vert replied.

 _"Oh okay. Ill just ask my other two friends Neptune or Blanc. They're good friends so theyll help me out with this friendly problem. Or maybe even my friend Nepgear."_

"W-what!?" I spoke out loud. For some reason I got really worked up when I read this… She also used the word 'friend' a lot on a side note.

 _"Wait. I got some time. I'm coming right now."_ I replied without thinking…

" _Great. See u in half an hour. :)"_

 _Green_Heart has logged off._

"… What did I let myself get talked in to?"

-" ** _Back to present time._** _"_

Vert and I had been searching the area for some time now. But with no clues or traces on where those men had taken him, we'd have to give up and come back another time.

"You think those two were part of ASIC?" I asked.

Vert shook her head and put her index finger on her chin. "I don't think so. From the description I got, they were wearing clothes with the letters CG on them. It might have been the Citizens Group. I just hope they don't have any bad intentions."

"Wait… Something is coming this way." I whispered. "Quick. Hide!"

We both quickly jumped behind a bush. As if Vert triggered an event flag, someone that fitted the description walked by. Grey clothes. Red cap. Initials CG. Can't get any more accurate than that… Although, Vert told me he was carried off by men. This person was clearly female.

"How convenient." Vert noted. "Let's not question it. After her."

 **Back to the Citizen Group club house**

"Okay, let me get this straight." I recapped. "You two are part of the citizen group-"

"Yeah." Both of them confirmed.

"-which is a group that has more than ten thousand followers that don't believe in any of the goddesses but the members come and go at random intervals (basically the share parameter Histoire labelled as 'other')-"

"Yeah."

"-your club leader, Rei Ryghts, is convinced Gamindustri would be a better place if CPUs didn't rule over each nation on their own-"

"Yeah."

"-But if the CPUs were to defeat the Deity of Sin, which everyone here doubts will ever happen, you'd all turn over a new leaf and permanently leave the Citizen Group-"

"Yeah."

"-And you both are as smart as Pixelvaders."

"Yeah… Wait… No!"

I let out a laugh as I tricked them with that last part. "Just kidding. Anyway, I was wondering, where is this Rei Ryghts right now?"

"If you want to speak with her, you're lucky." The big guy said. "She just so happened to move over from Lowee to here, just to ask you a few questions about why you travel with the CPUs… Wait, weren't we supposed to do that?"

"I dunno man." The younger shrugged.

I put my chin between my thumb and index finger "Hmm…"

Maybe I can use this all to my advantage. It still surprises me that the Citizen Group was this big before Rei got her counterpart's powers. And if what they say is right, then they'll put faith in the goddesses if they defeat the Deity of Sin.

What if I just… hm…

"I wouldn't mind speaking with miss Ryghts right now."

The big guy gave me a pat on the back. "Great. I'll take you to her."

"Uhm… There's… There's no need for that." A feminine voice hesitantly spoke.

"Oh. Rei. For how long have you been standin' there?" The younger one asked.

"N-not that long a-actually. I just, uhm… I just over heard you three t-talking when I passed by."

She doesn't look very confident. How did she manage to build an organisation this big?... What do they even do all day? Play bingo?

"Yeah, awrite." The big fellow shrugged. "We'll just go to the bingo in the cantina. I hope they still got the toaster. I really need a new one."

… Wha?

"T-that's alright. You two go have fun now." She waved them off as they left for the bingo… uhm… alright then. Guess they really are just an innocent little club, contrary to the Seven Sages from the other dimension.

"Uhm… W-would you mind coming to my office with me?"

"Sure. Beats this cosy cell we're in." I said as I walked after her. "Why'd you put me in prison anyway?"

"Oh… Uhm… W-we didn't want to take any risks. We didn't how you'd act after waking up. T-they, uhm, Tim and Jim did mention something like finding you on a stack of empty Nepsi cans while speaking gibberish."

I don't think I can justify myself here. I wouldn't trust a drunk stranger either.

* * *

 **BGM: Mysteries of the Pit – Paper Mario: TTYD**

Rei's office was pretty posh. There's three large windows on the right side with red curtains strapped to the side while on the left there were several pieces of modern art hanging on the ivory wall. At the entrance, there's a red carpet, stretching across the room on a wooden floor. Rei's desk itself seemed to be made of mahogany wood.

And here I am wondering where the hell she got the funds from to pay for all this stuff.

"I like your office." I complimented.

"Thank you. I designed the interior myself."

As she sat down on her grey office chair (with cushions, because apparently she has more luxuries than the goddesses) she gave me a friendly smile and told me to take a seat as well on the chair opposite of her.

The seat wasn't as comfortable as Rei's chair looked, but it wasn't bad either.

She opened up by formally introducing herself before beginning the 'interview'. She asked things like 'why do you insist on helping the CPUs?', 'Where did you come from?' and 'Do you think humans would do a better job at governing a nation compared to the current CPUs?'

To be honest, after seeing Neptune's idea of working, I think anyone would do a better job than her.

Then again, I've only seen her a few times. Maybe I should give her a little more credit.

"Uhm… A-are you still with me?" Rei asked while waving a hand in front of my eyes.

"Hm? Oh, I was just thinking about something. Did you ask something?"

"Well, uhm… Yes. Y-yes I did." She took her note pad and wrote something on it. "Final q-question. Regarding ASIC. Do you think the CPUs will be able to end their reign of terror?"

"You two are against each other? Your ideals seem to match."

"Well, we as the Citizen Group want to reform the system by law. We wish for humans to govern each nation rather than have CPUs monopolise the system. ASIC is the opposite. They are trying to revive their Deity to do their dirty work… B-by force."

"I see…" I once again put my thumb and index finger on my chin and quickly got lost in thought.

"Uhm… are you… Are you still with me?"

"Shh. Hang on. I gotta follow this train of thought. Give me a minute."

' _I think now would be a good time to set the first step to a 'good ending'. If I can somehow stop the Citizen Group from disbanding entirely and convert them in a valuable ally instead, I'd minimalize a lot of damage done to Planeptune and the other dimension (See Re;Birth 3 final chapter)._

 _And changing the group's goal won't change the general outcome. That little tomboyish fairy tome thing (Croire) is gonna turn Rei evil anyway. She'll send us to the other dimension, we come back, stop her if we need to do so and deed done, no one dies. Happy end._

 _However, I don't want to lock myself in one ending. So I'll probably use a very general lie just in case I want to change somethings… So what do I tell her?_ '

After a minute or two of exploring my thoughts, I made up my mind.

"Alright. I finally know what I should have for dinner." I lied, trying to shrug off the awkward situation I had created.

"W-wait, you… you interrupted me f-for… for dinner?"

"Yeah… Anyway, what did you ask me again?"

Rei sighed. She's a patient woman. Something this small shouldn't bother her.

"I asked you if you think the CPUs are capable of taking down ASIC."

"Ah. Yeah, now I remember. Well… If I'm being honest with you… Come closer. This is something no one else should hear."

 **BGM end**

* * *

 **Undocumented entry**

 **Citizen Group clubhouse - entrance**

 **POV: Vert**

After we finally got-

-" ** _Hold on a second._** _"_

-" _What. Need a break?_ "

-" ** _You can't just skip vital information like that? What did you just tell her back there?_** "

-" _If I skipped it, it means it has a reason. So just sit back and-_ "

-" ** _Nope. This isn't some kind of novel. You're going to explain what happened to me. There's no need to build suspense."_**

-" _Fine, I get it. Alright. Back to the interview._ "

* * *

 **Entry number 38 (continued)**

 **Citizen Group clubhouse**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

Rei leaned in closer, even though there's no one else in the room that should be able to hear whatever I was about to tell her.

"What if I told you about a fifth CPU? A CPU with such power, it makes even the Deity of Sin tremble in fear."

Rei's eyes went wide with surprise. "Eh!? A-a-a-a-another CPU!? B-but that's… outrageous!"

"Now now. Hold your horses. This CPU's ideals actually match yours. This one actually wants a system similar to what you mentioned. One where humans are allowed to govern over the nations while the CPUs rule alongside them."

"B-but it's a-another CPU a-and we.. uhm.. I uhm…"

…Did she even listen to me?

I had to repeat myself three more times before she finally got wind of the message.

"Oh. Now I see. So she too wants a system in which we humans can actually vote for our leader, while she rules alongside them. Right. I think I understand now. Although, I still need to learn more about this system… I, uhm… I want to make sure it's fair for us."

"Of course, of course. But you can trust my word. As a prophet of the true CPU, I can guarantee you it's a fair system… We call it democracy."

Rei leaned back in her chair and took a moment to think about the story. "This CPU… how comes I've never heard of her before? What's her name?"

"The name?"

Dang it, I didn't think that far ahead… uhm…

"The CPUs name… it's… V-Void Heart. CPU Void Heart."

"Void Heart? Aren't CPUs meant to be named after colours?"

"Void Heart is named after a colour. Or rather, after no colour at all. Are you familiar with the term 'devoid of colour'?"

"Fair enough."

Whew. Close call.

"But about my other question, why have I never heard of her before?"

… Ah piss.

"That's because… Excuse me, can I have some water." I asked, trying to create some more time for me to think.

"Oh… uhm… S-sure. Hold on, I'll get you some." She got up and left the room.

Alright… need to find a good reason for why no one in the entire world has ever heard of a CPU before which has matching ideals with the Citizen Group and is strong enough to take down a deity that has been terrorising Gamindustri for several years… God, I made the story too good to be true. How am I supposed to ever think of a reason for that.

"Sorry it took so long." Rei apologised while carrying a glass of water. That was awfully quick.

"D-don't mention it." I said while grabbing the glass and taking a sip from its contents. "Refreshing… Anyway."

I cleared my throat and finally answered her question. "The reason no one has ever heard of the CPU before is… because… the CPU isn't in Gamindustri. Yet."

"huh? She's not here yet? Then how do you know about her?"

"That's simple. Because I've met the CPU in person long ago." I lied while trying to refer to Void Heart as gender-neutral as possible. "Void Heart is a CPU of ancient times. It was forced to fall in a deep slumber after sealing the Deity of Sin long ago with the other CPUs from back then. Recently, the CPU contacted me and has given me the task of spreading the word of the strongest CPU of them all. Once Void Heart has regained enough power, it will gather the other CPUs and defeat the Deity of Sin for once and for all."

" _That turned out pretty well._ " I thought to myself. _"Sometimes I even scare myself with how quickly I can think of these ingenious plans and lies on the spot."_

-" ** _Were you always this cocky?"_**

-" _I'm not cocky… It was just the truth, and nothing less._ "

-" ** _…"_**

- _"_ _Anyway…_ "

"I think I understand." Rei nodded. "And you are certain this CPU is capable of defeating someone as powerful as the Deity of Sin?"

"Of course. All you and the rest of the Citizen Group have to do is put faith in… _'her'_ , and ' _she'll_ ' repay each and every one of you by building an entire nation in which humans can govern alongside her. Do we have a deal, miss Ryghts?" I asked while holding my hand out for a handshake.

Rei looked a bit hesitant. It certainly was an unbelievable story and putting faith in a 'goddess' she has never heard of before is not that easy. But then again, that's what all those followers of ASIC did with their deity. How's this any different?

It took her a good minute, but she finally made up her mind. "Very well." Rei shook my hand. "I'll inform the rest of the Citizen Group about this. I expect them to have mixed opinions, but most of them will certainly agree on putting faith in her if she does live up to her name."

"Naturally. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have somewhere to be. I'll come back in a few days to see how much progress you've made."

I turned around and headed for the exit with a big smile on face. Not a cheery smile. But more of an 'evil smile'. One of those you'd make after stealing something without getting caught.

After retrieving my equipment, I waved Tim and Jim (the two tugs that interrogated me before) goodbye and headed for the exit.

" _With the Citizen Group out of the way, I can now focus on what's ahead. Like taking care of ASIC."_ I thought.

As I was heading for the exit, my attention was drawn to two suspicious carboard boxes.

"… _Did those just move?_ " I thought.

I grabbed the boxes and lifted both of them up, revealing Vert and Noire.

"… Uhm."

"Oh!" Vert shot up and shook my hand. "There you are Geoffrey. We've been looking for you."

"… So are we going to ignore the fact you two are sneaking around the Citizen Group's clubhouse?"

Noire also got up and whipped her hair back into model. "Don't ask. This was her idea."

"So… Why are you two sneaking around in a place that's dedicated to a CPU-free world? Also, why's Noire here? Doesn't she have work to do?"

"I just had time to spare, that's all. It's not like I wanted to help either of you or anything."

… That's just rude.

"As for why we're sneaking around in boxes," Noire continued. "someone told us they saw you getting dragged away by members of the Citizen Group. So it was only natural for us to come check it out first."

"Although, no one seems to recognise us in our human forms. So these box disguises were unnecessary after all." Vert sweat dropped.

"I guess you could say…" I paused, building some suspense. " you two were coVERT ops."

"…"

Both of them deadpanned at me. At least I thought it was funny even if it was a little forced.

"We're leave." Noire stated, breaking to awkward silence.

The three of us just left through the front door. Like Vert said, none of the guards recognised Noire or Vert in their human form so we didn't have any trouble making our exit.

"By the way, now that we're out of danger… you really shouldn't drink that much if you get drunk that easily. It's your own responsibility you know." Noire scolded.

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I never drink on my own unless it's a special occasion or if someone's offering… Oh. I think I remember now. Vert invited me for tea and-"

"Ah! Uhm…BLAAAH! UHHH" Vert made random noises while pulling my head to her oversized chest interrupting me.

"MMPH!?"

"… What are you doing?" Noire asked staring at the two of us unamused.

"I'm… uhm.. just so happy to see him again. I couldn't hold myself any more. I, uhm… I had to embrace him and-."

"Riiiiight."

"MMPH MMBBRHG VRPH. VRPH. LPHM GRM OPH MPH."

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"… I'm not going to watch you two make out or whatever." Noire activated her HDD and flew off at the speed of light.

Vert sighed. "She didn't even say goodbye. This is exactly why she has so much trouble making friends."

"MRBPH! MHPHRBPH!" I mumbled while struggling to escape from her iron grasp.

"Hm?... Oh. Right." After nearly suffocating me to death, she finally let go of my head.

"*Pant* *Pant* *Pant* I thought I was going to die back there."

"You should be honoured. Very few men ever get to even come close to my-"

"Don't say it. I'll just pretend this never happened. Lilith would slit my throat if she ever heard of this so don't tell anyone about this. Especially the part where you actually forced my head between your udders."

Vert looked a bit insulted by my cold comment. "Udders!?"

Maybe a little too straight forward. "Well, I mean... What I meant to say was… It wasn't too bad though." I softly mumbled the last part.

"Hm? Could you speak up. I didn't quite catch that." She teased with a cheeky grin.

"… It was… kind of… maybe a little… nice."

"I still can't hear you~."

"… I-I'm gonna go back to the bassilicom. I probably still have to, uhm… clean my… room. Yeah. That." I quickly walked past Vert and navigated my way out of the dungeon.

Ugh. I just hope Noire doesn't go getting the wrong idea.

* * *

 **Entry number 39**

 **Planeptune bassilicom**

 **POV: Neptune**

"Histy. I can't go on anymore. My hands are shaking. My legs are trembling. My head is spinning. I'll turn in delicious Nep Pudding if I have to sign one more document."

This is probably the worst time for you guys to see the story through my adorable eyes. Histy has been working me to the bone ever since everyone left six weeks ago. Sure she'd give me occasional breaks, but I've been working non-stop for some time now and I still have so much paper work to fill out. Someone make it stop.

"Actually, Neptune, that was the very last document you had to sign for today. In fact, you finished your entire workload for the next four months."

"Huh?"

Histy left my office without saying another word. Did she just make me do… overwork!? I really need a word with the author. He's been doing nothing but make me do paperwork.

Well… On the bright side, I finally got my own part in the story so let's go do something fun.

On my way to Nep Jr.'s room, I ran into everyone in the living room.

"Hey Neptune." Nep Jr. greeted. "Did Histoire finally let you go for the day?"

"Yepperoni. I just finished all of the paperwork Planeptune has to offer for the next four months." I proudly bragged.

"Wait, did I just hear that right?" IF asked. "You. Working ahead? Never. Who are you and what have you done with the real Nep?"

"But it's true, Iffy. I mean, Histy tricked me into doing it, but it's still true."

"Hehe. Seeing Nep-Nep actually working makes me one happy Compa."

Everyone's attention was drawn to Lilith walking in while carrying several 4DS systems. "Found 'em all. We can start the tournament. Oh. Neptune. Did you escape from Histoire's dungeon again?"

"Nuh-uh! She let me go voluntarily. FYI, I finished all of the paperwork for the next four months."

"Wait, that doesn't include quests and such, right?" IF asked.

"… Iffy. You ruined it."

Lilith put all 4DS's on the table. "Well you're free now, right? Want to join our little Neptris tournament?"

"Did you even need to ask?" I cheerfully replied. "I'll take all of you down in just minutes."

"But Nep-Nep, didn't you lose to Geoffy twelve times in a row?" Compa asked.

"Pff. He must've cheated. There's no way he'd be this good at a game he's never played before."

"We got games similar to this one back in our world though."

I ignored Lilith's comment and pulled my 4DS out of my hoodie's pocket. "Enough chatting. Who's the first one to challenge the great Nep in a game of Neptris: Combat?"

Because it would be harder to hold a tournament with five, we asked Histoire to join. We also decided to go with a best out of three system.

The first match was between me and Compa. It was a close match, but after not even five minutes, I won my second game in a row against her.

"Aww boo. I lost." Compa said being slightly disappointed she was knocked out in round one.

The second match was between Nep Jr. and Lilith. Both of them managed to win once, but in the end Lilith won the third match after Nep Jr. messed up a combo in the puzzle grid.

"W-wait. That doesn't count… Oh, who am I kidding. Good game."

The final first round match between Iffy and Histy ended within just a minute. Histy wasn't that good at the game and went back to whatever she does in her spare time.

After a few more games, the final match between me and Lilith was about to start.

"Welp. Guess it's between you and me." Lilith shrugged, considering herself already won. "If you managed to lose twelve times to Geoff, there's no way I can't beat you."

"Like I said, I only lost because he must have cheated. Have at thee!"

The game started off pretty well for both sides. I managed win the first game, but after a hard fought battle, she won the second. It all comes down to this epic final battle of the century. And it's in a game of Neptris.

The game didn't last that long. Lilith messed up a combo early on and accidently filled her puzzle grid.

"Oh… Oops." She said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"That was anticlimactic." IF stated.

"I don't care. Here's the definitive proof that I am the best at this game. What do I win? A cup of pudding? Some pudding? All the pudding?"

The others looked at each other. "Uhm… Neptune. We don't actually have a prize for the winner." Nep Jr. informed.

"Wha? Ow, shucks. And here I was hoping I'd get a super cool ability or something for winning. Oh well. GG no Re."

"Now that we're done with the tournament, what should we play next?" Compa asked.

"I think it's only fair if Neptune gets to decide." Lilith suggested. "She did win after all."

"Really? Alright! Then I'll choooose... Erm… How about some Battle Coats?"

Everyone agreed and the rest of the day was spent playing games.

-" ** _So why is this relevant?_** "

-" _Not sure. I don't even remember writing this._ "

-" ** _Let's just keep going. Skip to the part where earthquake happened._** "

-" _You mean the one indicating the rising power of the Deity of Sin or whatever? Yeah okay."_

[Lost entry number 3 is now available in the Forbidden Entries. Be sure to check it out!]

* * *

 **And thus I finally wrote a chapter that doesn't end with a cliff-hanger. Good job me. Anyway, hope you're liking the story so far. I didn't intend on making this chapter as important as it is (considering last chapter ended with a drunk protagonist walking off into the sunset) but I think it turned out pretty well.**

 **I feel a bit bad for Blanc though. So far she's only had about five lines or so. And we're already over half way through the first arc. I should probably think of a way to make her a little more relevant. Just to satisfy those hardcore Blanc fans.**

 **Anyway, to make up for the huge delay on this chapter and the last one, I think I'll go ahead and promise to release the next chapter within the next seven days. Let's see if I can keep that promise.**

 **-Porpol**


	12. Chapter 11: CFW Brave's Rage

**Hey everyone. Looks like I managed to keep my promise. And even with a day to spare. Huzzah!**

 **Anyway, about this chapter. I've added quite a few BGM suggestion to this one. Why more than the usual two? Because I felt like it. Also, you might notice there's a wide variety of sources when picking these. I have two reasons for this. One being I don't want it to become repetitive by using the same song over and over. For example, I could use one and the same track for every single battle or I could be a little more creative and actually find something that fits the battle. Second reason being I actually hope some of you find a new song you'd like. Sure, you already know every single HDN song, but maybe you'll find something new because of this story. Do I believe this will happen? Nah. But there's always the off chance. ;P**

 **But enough about me. Let's read about them.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: CFW Brave's Rage**

 **Entry number 40**

 **Lowee bassilicom**

 **POV: Nepgear**

 **BGM: Have an ice day - Runescape**

A week has passed since our Neptris tournament. During this time, all traces of ASIC had completely disappeared and everyone had gone on with their normal lives. The more 'naïve' ones among us, as Geoffrey called them, believed ASIC had given up on reviving their deity and had disbanded their group. Others believed ASIC was preparing for something big. Like an all-out attack on all nations as a desperate final move.

After reading the future journal, it would make sense for ASIC to do something similar. Perhaps they're planning a surprise attack on Planeptune, like they were supposed to. Or perhaps they'll choose another nation. Whatever it is they're doing, I'll be ready for them.

As of now, everyone's gathered at Lowee's bassilicom. Specifically the living room. Blanc had invited everyone, simply because she felt like it had been far too long since everyone got to see each other. Especially since last time was so short lived.

Vert, Noire, Blanc and Neptune were playing the newest instalment of the Plumber Party series on the latest console while IF and Compa spectated.

Rom and Ram managed to get Lilith to read them a picture book about a bear and his animal companions. It was quite a sad story and all three of them were on the verge of crying.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey sat behind the trio looking pretty bored. Clearly, he didn't see the tragedy in the story. He'd occasionally question the story's plot, but most of his questions were ignored by them.

"Nepgear? Are you alright?" Uni asked.

"Hm? O-oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."

"You're worried about ASIC, aren't you?" Uni's expression turned somewhat serious.

"Well… Yeah. I kind of am. Seeing everyone so happy and calm again makes me kind of feel happy too. But it just doesn't feel right. Especially after reading those entries." I looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to the two of us. I then grabbed Uni's hand and dragged her away from the others to the hallway just outside the room.

"H-hey! At least ask before you touch me!" She snarled.

"S-sorry. I just wanted to talk somewhere a little more private."

"E-eh!? W-what about?" Uni's cheeks turned red.

A million and one questions raced through Uni's head at that moment. 'what does she mean by private? Why did she grab my hand so suddenly? Is this a confesion for lov-…it can't be, right!?' Of course, there's no way I could know she was thinking about this.

"About the future and ASIC of course." I explained.

"Oh…" Uni resisted the urge to sigh. She was relieved, yet a little disappointed. "Well, if I were to make a guess, I'd say they're planning something big."

"I thought the same. But it's been nearly two months now since we've heard anything of them. Maybe something else happened. You know, something actually inside the group of ASIC. We did destroy one of their leaders after all."

We both put our hand on our chin as we tried to think of a logical explanation. It was then that someone from inside the living room cried 'Nepu' in surprise.

Uni opened the door and saw everyone gathered around the TV.

"That's the woman that beat us." Vert mentioned. "How are they broadcasting this through the Lowee TV network?"

"CFW Magic." I softly repeated the name.

 **BGM Change: Rough Flash – Hyperdimension Neptunia**

" _Citizens of Gamindustri. Listen closely."_ CFW Magic began. " _We of ASIC would all like to present you one of our latest products, created by our deity herself._ "

"A new product?" Compa repeated.

"This can't be good." IF grabbed the TV remote and turned the volume up.

 _"Behold. The Arfoire Chip Unlimted, or ACU for short. This chip contains data of all copies of all existing games to date. The ACU also has a feature to update all on its own whenever a new game is released. In other words, you'll never have to buy games again. Every single one of them will be free."_

"That's impossible!" Noire retorted. "A chip like that doesn't exist. And even if it did, we don't even have the technology to create such a chip."

Geoffrey and Lilith looked at each other before backing off from the TV while discussing something quietly away from the others.

 _"Now you may wonder where you can get such an amazing chip. The answer may surprise you. Just about anywhere. In fact, if you look just out of your window, you may see one of our salesmen with them. So go out there. Get them while the stock lasts. This is a limited super special offer. Be sure to not miss it."_ She said with a creepy smile, trying to sell out her product.

The TV then turned static and everyone in the room began discussing what may be the best way to take down this treat immediately. Uni and I decided to listen in on the conversation between the Chemist and the Frenchwoman. We stood behind Geoffrey so he wouldn't notice us. Lilith didn't mind us and gave us a nod and a wink before turning back to him.

"I don't think ASIC was capable of doing this on their own." Geoffrey said as he was looking through the pages of both journals. "I assume you've read entry number 13. The one titled blackout battle?"

"Pretty much. I mean, thinking that Vince guy was a time traveller is weird and all. But what does it have to do with this?"

Geoffrey closed both journals and held them under his arm. "Remember what Noire said? Gamindustri doesn't have the technology for those advanced chips. Or at least, not yet. The keyword being 'yet'."

Lilith shrugged. "That doesn't prove anything. ASIC could've made them in the past two months. Who knows what kind of crazy inventors they have in their little group."

"I'm not done explaining." He said as he took a piece of metal out of his pocket. "See this? This is a part of CFW Judge's shielding device."

He handed Lilith the piece and she examined it for a second. "There's something written here. made in… China?"

"Funny, yes. I know. Everything's made in China. But considering China doesn't exist in Gamindustri, it can only mean one thing."

It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Even Uni and I understood what was going on. "Someone from our world travelled with us" Lilith concluded.

"Indeed. And I suspect it to be a time traveller like Vince. if we don't stop them now, they might actually succeed at taking over Gamindustri."

"What do you suggest we do?"

Geoffrey tapped the journals a few times. "Abandon the future journal. For now. Let those CPUs focus on stopping ASIC. We can focus on finding the punk that's been messing with us for so long."

"Do you really think they are capable of fighting ASIC all on their own?"

"They've done it once before right. Or at least, they were supposed to do so. And if Neptune really is right about this all being some cheap story or game or whatever, then the good guys are guaranteed to always win."

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Huh? I thought you refused to believe any of that."

Geoffrey shrugged. "I decided to give her a second chance. After all, I wouldn't be surprised if this whole world was just fiction. I mean, have you ever considered how this all makes zero sense. Like... time travelers, dimension hopping, cute girls with more hair colours than there are people, the huge lack of males. Don't even get me started on the laws of physics and-"

Lilith softly smacked his cheek. "You're rambling off track again."

"Pff. Anyway, I see the others have already left."

We all looked around to see the room was indeed deserted. It was then that Geoffrey noticed us. "Eh? Oh. Nepgear. Uni. You two are still here. Did you… uhm… hear anything I just said."

"Not at all." Uni lied. "We were just wondering if you two wanted to join us on our way to Lastation. The others are covering the other nations and we've decided to take care of business there."

"Huh? We were?" I asked.

Uni glared at me and bumped my arm with her elbow. "O-oh! Yeah. We were wonder, uhm… that."

Geoffrey looked at us, then at Lilith and then back at us. "I've got business to attend to." He then walked past us and left the room.

"Well that's just cold." Uni stated.

"Don't judge him too hard because of it." Lilith defended. "It's just his way of saying he'll be helping through other means. He's probably off looking for the one that travelled with us. Beside, we can't waste any more time, right? We should head over for Lastation and take down those chip salesmen."

"Wait. Were we really assigned to take care of business in Lastation?" I asked.

"Yeah. While you were listening in on them, I told Blanc to head for Lastation and wait for us there. Noire's taking care of Lowee with Rom and Ram while Vert and IF went for Leanbox. Neptune and Compa are currently heading for Planeptune."

"Those are some odd combo's." Lilith noted.

"In any case, let's just go. We don't have any time to spare."

 **BGM end**

* * *

 **Entry number 41**

 **Arfoire's Factory**

 **POV: Uni**

It took us a couple of days to get rid of all salesmen selling those chips in Lastation, but we managed to stop them all. As an added bonus, we got everyone that bought one a full refund. In other words, no shares were lost in Lastation.

After Blanc 'interrogated' one of the salesmen, he gave us the intel on where these chips were being made. A factory just outside Lastation. I remember the name of the factory from the journal. It's the same one where we fought CFW Brave for a second time and destroyed him.

But I think I can change the outcome of this battle. This time, it's my turn to change the future for the better.

We managed to sneak through the factory and hide ourselves behind a few wooden crates. I peeked past to see Underling commanding the workers.

 **BGM: Pirachu's theme – Hyperdimension Neptunia**

"Alright midgets. Just a hundred more of those chips each and you all can take your ten minute break." Underling shouted to her workers. "With these chips, all of Gamindustri will soon be ours. So don't even think about slacking off!"

"YEAH!" All workers cried in unison, motivated to work even harder for ASIC.

"… So now what?" Nepgear asked. "We can't just rush in and try to take her down, right?"

Blanc took her hammer and rested it on her shoulder. "What choice do we have? We'll just smash through them and crush every chip they've made."

"Say, Blanc. Just wondering, where do you even keep a hammer that big?" Lilith asked.

"Hm? CPUs and candidates actually get hammerspace. It's one of the perks of being a CPU."

"Really? So theoretically you could carry all of these ACU chips in your pocket?"

"Technically I could. But why would I?"

I turned back to the others. "Can we just focus? Look. They're getting ready for another shipment. It's now or never."

Everyone agreed and drew their weapons.

"Alright. That's the last shipment for today. Everyone take ten and-"

"Slash wave!" Before Underling could finish, Nepgear used a special move on the shipment and destroyed it.

"Huh? Hey! It's you broads again." She then ran over to the destroyed chips to see if any were still usable. "Do you guys even know how much effort we put into these? Gah. Alright. That's it."

She readied her pipe and rallied the other workers to fight too. "Guys! These are the broads I've been telling you about. Let's give them a good ASIC rumble, alright?"

"RIGHT!" all workers chanted as they drew their weapons like wrenches, hammers and screwdrivers.

Blanc stepped forward and took her hammer in both hands. "You three take care of those grunts. I'll show this girl what it means to cross us CPUs."

Underling swung her pipe a few times and pointed it at Blanc. "You serious? Heh. This is gonna be easy. You're going down, flatty."

Blanc took this insult harder than she should've. "What did you just call me, you punk!? I'll kill you for that one!"

The battle didn't last long. After a single direct hit from Blanc's hammer, Underling was sitting unconscious on agaisnt the wall. In the meantime, the rest of us made quick work of the workers.

"Maybe you went little to overboard with her…" Lilith comment as she crouched down to see if Underling was still alive.

"She got it coming." Blanc bluntly stated. "And now we can take care of this facility and put an end to those chips once and for all."

"Not so fast there, CPU." A manly voice said in a heroic way.

I recognised the instantly. "That voice… CFW Brave."

Everyone turned around. CFW Brave blocked the exit with an unknown woman next to him.

 **BGM Change: Lusamine Encounter - Pokemon Sun & Moon**

The woman looked to be around the same age as Lilith. She even has the same eye- and hair colour. Heck, even their chest size was about the same (and for those of you wondering... B cup. Ya perves). There were a few differences in facial features, but beside that, they could've been twins. Another notable feature was the woman's attire. Or lack thereof. She wears nothing but a red denim top covering nothing but her chest and some torn blue denim shorts. She also has a katana strapped to her back and a few pockets strapped around her legs. Over her shoulder, she carries a white rain coat with a grey scarf.

"I'll take care of the lackey. You take on those four." She said with a poker face.

"Uhm… Who are you?" Nepgear asked, pointing at the woman.

The woman didn't respond and walked past us, lifting Underling over her shoulder. "You there." She pointed at Lilith. "Tell me. Your ex. Where is he?"

Lilith put her right hand on her hip. "Nice to meet you too. How about giving us your name first?"

"…Viridi."

Lilith's eyes went wide with shock. "Pardon?"

"Tell me. Now. I don't have any time to waste."

"B-but… Why? Why are you…" Lilith quickly glanced at us before regaining her composure. "Dunno. He walked off without saying a word. He could be anywhere."

"I see. Thank you." Viridi then walked past us but stopped as she stood next to Lilith.

"… Don't mess with the wrong people. Unless you want a knife stuck between your eyes."

While she stood next to Lilith, I noticed there was a silver brooch in the shape of a dove attached to her breast pocket.

Before Viride could step past her, Lilith grabbed her by her shoulder. "… Do you even know what you're doing?"

Viridi paused. Her expression as cold as ever. "Do you?"

"…"

Viridi shook herself free from Lilith's grasp. "Everyone is doomed to die unless something is done. I'm the hero here, you know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blanc asked. Viridi didn't respond.

She then left us with CFW Brave, which had been waiting patiently for the upcoming fight. "So we meet again." He brandished his blade towards me.

"Yeah. I've been waiting for this." I replied as I stepped forward, facing Brave head on.

"I cannot allow you to destroy this precious factory of ours. Leave at once, or else."

"You're our enemy. But I can't sense any evil intentions from you. That's why I wish to talk with you for a moment. Rather than fight this out in such a barbaric way."

Lilith and Nepgear noticed the slight difference in my line.

"Hm? What's she doing?" Lilith asked. "Did she actually prepare something to convince him?"

"I am no evildoer. You have my word for it. ASIC just wants world's children to be happy. Destroying this factory would bring nothing but sadness to those children's wishes."

I smiled as she knew her instinct was right. "Then perhaps you'd like to read these." She pulled a dozen letters out of her hammerspace.

"What are these?" Brave asked, reading one of them.

"They're all letters from children. Children that wish for a happy future. Children that wish for-"

"The destruction of ASIC?" Judge finished. He desperately read more letters. Each and every one of them were about the same thing.

"I refuse to believe this. These children are misguided. No. These letters. They're forged."

I shook my head and took a step towards Brave. "All of these are authentic. I asked the children of Lastation what their opinion is on ASIC. To write it about it in a letter."

Brave couldn't believe his eyes. He was tempted to go out and check for himself. But somewhere deep inside, he knew she wasn't lying. "These letters… Do they truly come from the children?"

"Yes. They want your help, Brave. Be the hero Gamindustri deserves. Leave ASIC and help us rid of their evils once and for all."

Brave was struggling to make a decision. He knew ASIC doesn't have any evil intentions (or so he believes) but these letters do all seem authentic. "I…. I don't what to do."

Suddenly, someone threw a flask with a black liquid inside at Brave's face. "W-what!?" He quickly covered his face and tried to swipe to contents off.

The four of us looked back to see whoever threw it, but there was no one there. As if the flask appeared out of thin air.

 **BGM stop**

"Brave! Are you alright?" I asked.

The black ooze disappeared from Brave's face. "I… I… I must… Destroy!"

Brave's eyes were now red instead of yellow. His brandished his blade once more and got ready for combat. "Destruction. I will… Destroy!"

"What just happened to him?" Blanc asked. "He just went from being a hero to a mindless monster."

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"We ain't changing any more of the future, ladies. I don't want another Uni incident like back in Rebeat Resort." I spoke out loud to no one while hiding behind a few wooden crates. "This time you're killing him. Right here. Right now."

I got out of my hiding spot and headed for another exit. "Good thing I decided to check on them just now. It could've been bad if they did manage to convince him to become a good guy."

Unfortunately I happened to walk in right after Viridi left, so I didn't get to meet her this time. Not that I knew about her existence yet.

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

"GAAH!" Brave cried, swinging his blade at Uni. She swiftly dodged all attacks and jumped back to the rest of us.

 **BGM: The Four Felons - Hyperdimension Neptunia**

"Brave. I tried to safe you. I'm… I'm sorry." Uni transformed and readied her rifle.

Blanc and Nepgear followed suit and also transformed. Lilith reloaded her gun and aimed at Brave.

Both parties were waiting for the other side to make the first move.

Lilith was the first to make a move and opened fire. Brave deflected each shots with ease and dashed forward, swiping his blade at all four of us. All four managed to get out of the way without any trouble.

"Einschlag!" Blanc shouted as she stomped her foot on the steel floor and hit Brave, sending him flying back.

Brave quickly recovered. Even if it left a large dent in his armour, he didn't seem to even mind it. "I…. Shall destroy you all! May my blade shine as bright as my future."

Brave's blade began to glow blue, much like Judge's axe did back in the Gamindustri Graveyard.

"Everyone, get down." Nepgear warned.

Everyone back off as Brave charged his attack. "DIE!"

Brave pointed his blade at his opponents and unleashed a massive beam.

"Everyone, dodge!" Uni cried. Everyone did as Uni commanded. Everyone but Nepgear, which had been charging her M.P.B.L.

"Go!" She shouted as she fired the beam, putting the two in a deadlock.

They were equally matched. Neither side looked like they were going to stop any time soon. Uni quickly stepped in and charged her special as well. "EX Multibuster!" She cried as she fired the beam.

With her attack added in, Brave was being pushed back. "NNNNGH. I. WILL. NOT. LOSE." He cried as he put everything he had in his attack, engulfing the two candidate's with his attack.

"Uni! Nepgear!" Lilith ran over to see if the two were still alive. They were both in their human form again and Nepgear was out cold.

"W-what happened?" Uni asked.

"… Take a break Uni. Blanc and I got this one." Lilith said as she patted Uni's head.

"Y-you don't have to pat my head, you know. I'm not a dog."

In the meantime, Blanc and Brave were trading blows. Brave would occasionally land an attack, but for every time he hit her, she hit him back twice as hard back.

However, Brave was for more durable then her.

"Begone!" Brave broke through Blanc's defence and knocked her back into a wall. She impact caused her to revert back to her human form and fall unconscious.

"… Bon sang." Lilith cursed in French.

Brave quickly closed the distance and began his assault. Lilith managed to use her Riposte ability to block most of his attacks. She nimbly dodged all attacks she couldn't block.

Brave swiped his blade horizontally, forcing Lilith to jump over it. When she got back on her feet, she quickly lunged at him, hitting several weak spots in his armour.

"An opening. Misérable Combo!" She threw her blade, getting it stuck in Brave's shoulder. She then unloaded her clip on him before pulling her blade back out again and kicking the wicked knight back.

"AGH!" He cried as he landed.

"Give it up. You can't even land a hit on me."

Brave got right back on his feet and charged another beam attack. "Enough!"

"Again? Tsk. It won't hit me, you know."

"I am well aware. But what about your friends?"

"..Eh?" Lilith looked back to see the three wounded CPUs behind her. If she'd get out of the way, they'd all get killed by the attack. And using her riposte would only shield herself. Not the rest of her friends.

She quickly looked around, trying to find a solution.

"Here it comes!" Brave announced as he unleashed the beam.

The beam was quickly closing in and Lilith still hadn't made a choice. She could only curse before it hit her. "Fu-NGH!"

When the beam died down, Lilith collapsed. "Well… At least… I died a h-hero… R-right? Guys?" She closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

Uni, which had silently been watching the event unfold, got back on her feet. Her entire body was hurting. She had to keep fighting. "Lilith… You… You idiot."

"What's this?" Brave asked. "One of the CPUs is still alive? Your blood will stain my blade!" Brave readied his blade again and dashed forward.

Uni was desperately dodging Brave's attacks. Slash after slash, Brave tried to hit her with all his might but to no avail.

Uni then used one of her special moves to push Brave back. "Venom shot!"

With Brave knocked back. Uni fell to her knees. "N-no… I can't die here. Nepgear… Lilith… Blanc. I'm… I'm still far too weak. I'm sorry." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. There was no way out. At this rate, she'd die by Brave's hand.

"I will destroy you! I will destroy everything!" Brave cried.

"… No… I'm still weak." Uni lamented. "I have to do this. Not just for them. But for everyone. For the children. The children Brave wants to protect with his life. I have to do this. I can't fail here."

She got back on her feet and transformed again. "I won't lose!"

Brave was blinded by the bright light and was forced to cover his eyes with his hand. When the light died down, a transformed Uni looked at him. She was different. Her processor unit was a little more 'revealing' to say the least. She had unlocked her true power.

Uni pointed her gun at Brave and charged a special attack.

"GRAAAH!" Brave cried as he charged forward.

Right before impact, Uni fired the attack at him. "BRAVE CANNON!"

To Uni's surprise, it completely obliterated him. Brave didn't even get to cry out as the beam engulfed him.

"It's over… Brave… I'm sorry."

 **BGM end**

Uni turned back to the others and healed them with the remaining healing items she had on her.

"Ugh. My head. What happened?" Lilith asked.

"Hm? Uni? What's the matter?" Nepgear asked. "You look a bit down."

"… It's nothing. I'll just…"

Nepgear saw right through her lies. She put her hands on Uni's shoulders. "Come on. You can tell me. You look troubled. What's on your mind?"

"…For some reason, killing Brave like that hit me harder than it should've. He wasn't a bad guy. He didn't deserve to die. Yet, someone made him fight like that. That vial… With that black stuff in it."

Lilith looked away from the two. She knew very well who threw that vial. She's seen it before.

"The Rage Formula." She softly mumbled to herself.

"What was that?" Blanc asked. She was standing behind Lilith without her noticing.

"O-oh. Uhm. L-Lady Blanc."

"There's no need for the formalities. Just call me Blanc."

"Right. Right. Blanc. I was just, uhm. Thinking about what the weird vial was."

Blanc's expression remained neutral. Like always, she has a straight face. Lilith wondered if Blanc was actually capable of smiling, but she wasn't going to ask.

"It sounded to me like you knew what it was. In fact, it looked like you also know that Viridi woman."

"It's… a long story. Kind of hard to explain. She's… well…"

Lilith looked back at the CPU candidates to make sure they weren't listening in. She then whispered what her relation was with Viridi in Blanc's ear.

For once, Blanc's straight face was replaced with a shocked one. "She's your… WHAT!?"

"Shh. Keep it down. Promise you won't tell anyone, alright?"

"But how is that… Why is that…"

Blanc quickly calmed herself and returned to her usual straight faced demeanour. "I understand. It must be hard for you to see someone that close to you turn to ASIC."

In the meantime, Nepgear managed to cheer Uni up. The two candidates hugged each other and Uni thanked her.

The four heroes returned to Lastation's bassilicom for a break.

After all, who knows what ASIC might do next.

* * *

 **Undocumented entry**

 **Somewhere between Arfoire's Factory and Lastation, near the coast**

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

 **BGM: Aqua walking - Hyperdimension Neptunia**

In a forest near the coast somewhere between the factory and Lastation's harbour, a black-haired man was taking a break from all the running he'd done since he left the factory. The harbour was only a few more minutes away from where he had stopped, but he felt the need to take a break.

"Alright. What did I pack for lunch?" Geoffrey asked himself while digging through his backpack. When he found a green lunch box, he took it out of his backpack and examined it.

"That's weird… Since when do I have a lunch box? Maybe Vert is trying to be all lovey dovey again and she decided to make lunch for me. Like a caring wife or something. Yeah. That's an anime romance trope if I ever saw one."

He opened the lunchbox and found two notes and no lunch.

The first note read: " _Hey Geoff. I made you some lunch. Don't get the wrong idea though. We're still just friends ;)"_

"As if I'd believe you at this point… So where's the lunch?"

The second note read: " _Thanks for the lunch Vert. oxoxox Neptune"_

"…"

Geoffrey closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Neptune... You son of a-"

Realising he was speaking to himself, he quickly resumed digging through his backpack to find the lunch he had prepared himself.

"Let's see. Some NaCl, medicine… no… a few test bombs, nope. Not looking for those. Uhm… another bottle of NaCl… some Radium. A few used syringes. Not looking for those either. CPU memory. Journal. Other journal… Damn it, where's my muffin?"

Frustrated, he turned his backpack upside down and unloaded all its contents on the ground.

to his surprise, a pile of random items came out of it. He was pretty sure that that much didn't even fit in the backpack, but he wasn't going to question it. Before he could even try to search for his snack, a Boxbird jumped out of the stack and ran off. "How did that thing get in there? Whatever."

Searching through the stack, he began naming his findings again. "Let's see… Some butter. A Nepgear plushy... Why do I have that? Oh. My phone… So that's where that was. I wonder what level everyone is by now. Let's check."

 _Uni: lvl 56_

 _Noire: 57_

 _Lilith: lvl 55_

 _IF: lvl 55_

 _Compa: lvl 55_

 _Nepgear: lvl 56_

 _Neptune: lvl 58_

 _Blanc: lvl 57_

 _Rom: lvl 55_

 _Ram: lvl 57_

 _Vert: lvl 58_

 _Geoffrey: lvl: 69_

"Everyone seems to be right about the same. Except for me. I probably should've stopped grinding for a while after that dogoo incident. Ugh. It was not worth it at all… Then again, I did fall in a coma or something for two weeks? How the heck am I still this far ahead?"

He put his phone away and resumed my search.

"I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere with 69. But I can't think of any."

"Let's see… a bag of quest materials. A sock. A blue berry muffin with shrimp stuffing…" He tossed his lunch aside, not realising it was what he was looking for. "Some nailclippers. More medicine. Even more medicine. Even more bottles with medicine… Where is it!? Ugh… eh? Eww, purple dogoo slime… Some more purple dogoo slime… and even more?"

Pushing his things to the side, he uncovered a low-level purple dogoo hidden in the pile.

Geoffrey jumped back in terror and fell on his back. "Eep! A d-d-d-d-d-d-d-dogoo."

He quickly kicked the dogoo to the side and packed his stuff. "No no no. I'm not doing this. Time to leave." He said as he ran at full speed towards the shipyard.

The dogoo, confused about what just happened, happily skipped after the fleeing man.

Little did they both know that someone had been patiently listening in on them.

"So he's afraid of dogoos." Viridi noted, leaning against a tree. "Cute. Let's use it against him."

Satisfied with her discovery, she returned to the Gamindustri Graveyard to discuss their next plan of attack with CFW Magic.

 **BGM end**

* * *

 **And that ends the assault on Gamindustri. Originally, it was going this was going to be two chapters long and Viridi would've made an appearance in the second part. But I decided to put her in here, because I want to spend the next chapter on something else.**

 **I also originally intended on Geoffrey and Viridi meeting each other just outside the factory, make them battle and then have a stalemate between them. Heck, Underling would've gotten a little cool scene for herself. Reason I removed it? It's far too early for something like this. Geoffrey can't and shouldn't be able to take on Viridi on his own. If he was able to win, I'd fall for the OP OC trope.**

 **I did keep the entire battle scene (it was about 1.5k words long, so kinda a waste to just delete it like that) so I might release it once those two did duke it out.**

 **Another reason I cut it out was because I felt like it would be such a waste if I didn't give Brave his own fight after the scene with Uni and the letters.**

 **So if you've got time to spare, let me know if you think I did the right thing. Did you enjoy the fight between Uni and Brave or would you rather have seen Viridi go out against Geoffrey?**

 **Anyway, I can't guarantee the next chapter is going to be done just as fast as this one, but there's always a chance. So… until then.**

 **-Porpol**


	13. Chapter 12: Omen of Misfortune

**Hey everyone. Glad to see you're still sticking around for so long. The story's been going for some time now and we're not even 25% done yet with the whole thing. We're getting pretty close to the finale of the 1** **st** **arc though. In fact, this is going to be the first part of the finale.**

 **Another thing, I think I should mention I've gone back and corrected a few grammar mistakes in last chapter. There were quite a lot and most of them were pretty obvious mistakes too (like leaving an entire word out for example).**

 **Also, one final note, I was pretty happy to get a guest review telling me they enjoyed the story so far. Shout out to you, bud. You gave me some motivation (despite this taking another 2 weeks to upload).**

 **With all that said, let's get right into the beginning of the end.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Omen of Misfortune**

 **Entry number 42**

 **Leanbox - ACU Ware(chu)house**

 **POV: IF**

"You'll pay for this chu!" Warechu shouted as he ran off with his tail between his legs.

"Hey get back here!" I called after him. "Dang. He got away again. Those grunts are only good at running away."

Lady Vert opened one of the wooden crates and checked its contents. "It doesn't matter, really. Now that we've seized this warehouse, ASIC's plans of spreading ACU chips in Leanbox has come to an end."

I sheeted my claws and moved next to lady Vert. "I suppose that's some consolation. But if we don't grab this problem by its roots, it's just going to come back stronger."

*Ring* *Ring*

"Hm? Iffy, dear. I do believe your phone is ringing."

"Huh? Oh… Yes? IF speaking. Oh hey everyone. Since when did you guys put me in this group chat?"

- _"_ _How does she even know which one she's being called on? She has like nine phones… Why does she even have nine?_ _"_

"Iffy, could you perhaps use the video function of your phone so we both can participate in the conversation?"

"Hm? Video chat? Sure. Give me a sec."

I navigated through my phone's chat menu and activated its holo-chat function. After everyone accepted, everyone appeared as a hologram before us. Neptune, Histoire and Compa on call 1, Geoffrey on call 2, Nepgear, Uni, Lady Blanc and Lilith on call 4 and Lady Noire, Rom and Ram on call 5. On call 3, a reflection of ourselves appeared.

"So… Did anyone encounter any problems?" I asked.

"Nothing on our side. All went handy dandy because of your one and only protag. Right Compa?"

"Yep yep. Nep-Nep was totally awesome and defeated those mean ASIC baddies."

"Nothing here either. Just on my way to Leanbox all alone."

"We totally kicked ASIC's butt back there, right Rom."

"R-right."

"W-well… actually…" Nepgear spoke up with an uneasy expression. "We… kind of ran into a few problems."

"Hm? What's the matter, Nepgear?" Vert asked.

"We… Kind of ran into CFW Brave."

"You mean that one heroic robot from ASIC?" Noire asked. "You didn't fight him, did you?"

"We did." Blanc said. "And we won."

"…WHAAAAT!?" Everyone yelled in unison.

"Yeah. Uni totally trashed him with her unlocked power." Lilith clarified.

"Unlocked power?" Compa asked. "What's that?"

"I think I might know what you mean." Histoire butted in. "When a CPU candidate is faced with great danger or filled with strong determination, they might unlock their full CPU form."

"Does that mean I can also unlock a next form?" Nepgear asked.

"Yes. And the same goes for Rom and Ram. You just need to find a way to unlock it."

"Oh. Before I forget." Uni interrupted. "Completely off subject, but we encountered another problem... Well, maybe two other problems"

"Two?" Geoffrey asked. "Wasn't Brave alone already enough of a problem?"

"I'd wish. We ran into this evil-looking woman along with CFW Brave. Her name's Viridi and she claims to be a hero."

"A hero?" Noire smirked. "On ASIC's side? She's just as misguided as that CFW Brave if she believes that."

Nepgear shook her head. "I don't know. She looked like she didn't mean any harm to us. I mean, she threatened us, but she didn't actually fight alongside Brave."

Geoffrey shrugged. "So? What's your point?"

"Well, wouldn't it be much easier to just get rid of us all when you've got a number advantage?"

Geoffrey shrugged again. "Maybe she's just weak. Like Underling… Wait. Did you say Viridi?"

"Yeah." Lilith confirmed. "Does that name sound familiar?"

"No… That's what concerns me."

"Why so?" I asked, pressing for more info. "There's plenty of ASIC leaders we've never heard of. What's so scary about this one?"

I've always found Geoffrey's behaviour suspicious to say the least. But it never looked like he meant any harm to us. Maybe I should look more into him and Lilith. I mean, why would it concern him he's never heard of her before?

"… Well… Whatever. What's the second problem?" Geoffrey quickly changed the subject.

"Right." Uni continued. "We almost convinced Brave to leave ASIC and join us. But suddenly someone threw some weird black ooze at him, which made him lose his mind."

"Do you perhaps know something about this, Geoff?" Lilith accused.

"Why look at me? Just because I'm a chemist doesn't mean I'm the only one throwing vials around. Besides, maybe it was that Viridi person you mentioned."

Lilith giggled as Geoffrey finished.

-" ** _So what was so funny?_** "

-" _She never mentioned anything about a vial. I completely gave myself away there. Luckily, none of you seemed to notice._ "

"In any case, what you're trying to say is that we need to keep our eyes open for another threat, right?" Noire asked.

"… Perhaps we can use the defeat of CFW Brave as an opportunity." Histoire suggested.

"Wadda ya mean, Histy?" Neptune asked while poking Histoire's small cheeks.

"P-please stop poking me. Anyway, what I mean is that ASIC is certain to have grown more and more aggressive over time. With CFW Brave and CFW Judge both out of the way, their members must have started to question their authorities. We can use this time of confusion to go on the offense ourselves."

"You mean attack the remaining members in the Graveyard?" Rom asked. "Isn't that… dangerous?"

"It's brilliant." Geoffrey praised.

"Huh?"

"Think about it. We just destroyed a bunch of factories all across Gamindustri. They're not going to recover from it any time soon. If anything, they're at their weakest right now. If we're ever going to try and stop them, it'd be now."

"What happened to consistency, Geoff?" Lilith asked with a slightly sarcastic tone. I'm not sure what she meant by that.

"Not now, Lily."

… Yeah. I'm definitely keeping an eye on those two.

"Does anyone have any objections against this plan of attack?" Histoire asked.

With no objections, Histoire finished the call. "Very well. We'll be expecting you here at the Planeptune Bassilicom in three days at eleven A.M."

And with that, everyone waved each other goodbye and ended the call.

"What's the matter Iffy?" Vert asked. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Hm? Oh. I was just thinking. Don't you think Geoff and Lilith are both acting kind of odd?"

"Well… Geoffrey in particular is kind of weird, yes. But I've hear their custodies are very different from ours. Did you know exchanging blood is a common thing in his dimension?"

"Wait, really? There's no way."

"It's true. I once woke up to him taking some blood from me. I don't think I'll ever recover from that horror again."

"They're a strange bunch. In any case, I'll be heading back to Planeptune now. Goodbye, Lady Vert."

"Safe travels Iffy." Vert said as she waved me goodbye.

* * *

 **Entry number 43**

 **Planeptune – café**

 **POV: Nepgear**

 **BeanStalk way 2 – Wario World**

"Whoa. I'm so full, I'm gonna burst open and split into another adorable me." Neptune said as she patted her belly.

Today's the big day. After hours of rigorous training (or in some cases lazing around all day), we're finally ready to bring the fight to ASIC.

As of now, Neptune and I were enjoying ourselves at a maid café. Maids aren't really my thing, but Neptune insisted on going.

"Yeah. Me too. I don't think I can take another bite." I said as I searched my pocket for my wallet… Huh? My wallet's not here? Maybe I put it in my hammer space by accident.

When I couldn't find my wallet there either, I began to panic. "Uhm… N-Neptune? Did you bring your wallet?"

"Huh? What's that? Forgot your lunch money? Don't worry, you big sis has got will you covered."

"Has got will covered?"

My comment was ignored. Neptune pulled her wallet out of her hoodie and turned it upside down. Unfortunately, nothing but a few butterflies came out.

"…Oh… Right." Neptune sweat dropped.

"Excuse me, but would you like to have the bill?" One of the maids asked.

"Eep!" I yelped. "U-uhm. Well. You see… We…"

"We're paying for them." Someone behind us said.

"Hey look. It's mini Noire." Neptune noticed while pointing at Uni. "And the boring normal Noire too."

"What do you mean boring?" Noire asked with a huffy expression.

"You better pay me back some time soon, Nepgear." Uni said as she paid for our lunch.

we left the café and walked down the street.

"So… why are you and your sister here?" I asked. "Did Histoire ask you to come and get us?"

"Yeah. We're supposed to be picking everyone up." Noire answered. "We just so happened to run into you guys first. We've still got to find Lilith, Compa and IF."

Neptune then stepped in front of the group, forcing them to halt. "Wait. I thought we were the CPUs of Planeptune. Why did Histy ask you two to do our job anyway? It's only ten in the morning. We're supposed to gather at eleven."

"It would be a massive plot hole if she made you do all the work." Someone joked.

"Huh? Iffy?" Neptune asked as she looked around.

"Over here." IF stepped out of an alley and joined the group. "I just so happened to overhear you girls."

"Pff. You say it like there haven't been any plot holes before. I mean, look at last chapter. How in the heck did Geoffrey find a hidden factory if the only ones that knew about the place were ASIC members and Blanc who had interrogated the salesman for it?"

"…"

Everyone was dumbfounded at Neptune's fourth wall breaking. Not only did she just completely ruin last chapter's plot, but she also ruined this one as she was not supposed to know this. In fact, one could say this entire scene is completely out of place, considering the entire story does not revolve around this kind of humour and fourth wall breaking. Good job, Neptune.

IF grabbed one of her cell phones and dialled in a number.

 **Hello there.**

"Is this Porpol?"

 **Yeah. That's me.**

"Neptune is revealing plot holes."

 **Oh shit. Not again.**

Out of nowhere, a white glove appeared holding a purple wallet with an N on it. The hand smacked Neptune across the cheek with it, sending her flying through a window floating in the distance that just appeared out of nowhere.

"Nepuuuuuuuuu" Neptune cried as she flew off.

The hand then dropped the wallet and blinked out of existence.

"Oh no.. Neptune!..." As I was about to run after her before I noticed the wallet the hand had dropped. "Oh… there's my wallet." I casually said as if nothing strange just happened.

Uni was the only one that couldn't comprehend what just happened. "Huh? Wait, but what about the-… And the-… But that window-…"

"Don't think too hard about it, Uni." Noire reassured. "This kind of stuff happens a lot around Neptune. One time she completely defied all logic and actually broke the physical manifestation of the fourth wall. I can still hear the poor thing cry in pain for her to stop hitting it with Blanc's hammer."

"Wait… What?" Lilith asked as she joined the group, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"Gah. Don't scare me like that." IF scolded.

"No no, go back a few lines." Lilith resumed. "What?"

"It's kinda hard to explain." Neptune said as she got back. Surprisingly, she didn't even get a scratch from the entire event that just unfolded.

" _How'd she get back so fast?_ " I thought.

"Like boring Noire said-"

"I'm not boring!"

"-Don't think too hard about it." Neptune cheerfully explained.

"Right…" Lilith was having trouble understanding what just happened, she figured questioning it would make it only more confusing. "So… what are you girls all doing out here?"

"We're supposed to get everyone so we can leave for the Gamindustri Graveyard." Uni explained. "Vert, Blanc and her sisters are already waiting for us at the bassilicom. The only one left is Compa."

*Ring* *Ring*

"Oh. Sorry. That's my cell." IF said as she answered her phone. "Hello?... Oh… I see. Okay. Yeah, I'm with them. No, I found them first. Not the other way around…. Yeah, I know right… Wait, what do you mean he's not with us?... Oh well. I guess you're right. I'll see you soon. Bye."

*click*

"Who was that?" Lilith asked.

"It was Compa. She said she was already at the bassilicom when you guys left. Also, apparently Geoffrey won't be joining us."

"Huh? Why not?" I asked.

"Beats me. Lady Vert said she couldn't find him anywhere when she was about to pick him up. He knew we were going today, so…" IF paused. She looks like she's thinking about something.

"Anyway, we can't afford to wait for him. We should just get going. Compa said they're heading for the East exit of Planeptune. They'll meet us there.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Neptune cheerfully asked. "Let's roll out Nepcrew and boring Noire."

With one last complaint about being called boring from Noire, the 'Nepcrew' headed for the East gate and joined the others on their way to the Gamindustri Graveyard.

* * *

 **Entry number 44**

 **East Gate - Planeptune**

 **POV: Lilith**

 **BGM Change: Friends (Reunited) – Pokemon X and Y**

As we left Planeptune, we soon found Histoire and the others.

"Have no fear, because Nep-Nep is here!" Neptune greeted.

"Lively as ever I see." Vert smiled. "Try to keep some of that energy for the upcoming fight, alright?"

"It's not going to be an easy fight. But if we work together, I'm sure we can overcome this so called deity." Blanc agreed.

"Pff. My big sis won't lose to the same opponent twice, right Rom?" Ram shrugged.

"R-right."

With everyone in high spirit, they couldn't help but exchange idle chat with each other for the next few minutes.

"May I have your attention please." Histoire asked. "I'd like to take a group picture to commemorate this moment."

"Hm? Shouldn't we take one after we've destroyed ASIC?" I asked.

"Nah. That would take too long." Neptune objected. "Besides, everyone's probably gonna go right back to their own nation right when we're done with this ordeal. Right girls?"

"So we're basically celebrating before we've even fought." Uni sighed.

"What. Are you having second thoughts, Uni?" Noire asked.

"O-of course not. I just thought we shouldn't get over confident."

With no further objections from the others, everyone picked their best buddies and posed next to them for the picture. It was then that a problem arose.

"Vert! Stop putting my kid sister between your enormous cushions!" Neptune said as she pulled Nepgear away from Vert.

However, Vert wasn't planning on letting go of Nepgear either. "How rude. It is only natural for us sisters to be this close to each other when we take a photo of such a memorable moment."

"But she's my sister! M-I-N-E. Mine!" Neptune shouted as she pulled her once more.

"P-please stop pulling me like that." Nepgear cried. "Y-you two can just stand on either side of me, right?"

"W-well… Nepgear…" Uni butted in. "I actually was w-wondering if I could stand next to you for this photo… N-not because I like you or anything!"

Both Neptune and Vert gave Uni a glare. "Huh? You too mini Noire? Nuh-uh! She's all mine, I'm telling you!"

All three of them were arguing on who could stand next to Nepgear for the photo.

After a very long winded fight, the three of them agreed none of them would stand next to Nepgear. In fact, no one was allowed to stand next to the person of their choice. Instead, Histoire was supposed to randomise the group's positions in such a way no one could complain about anyone else.

No one was happy with this. Especially Rom and Ram. I don't remember who even had a problem with putting those two next to each other, but those were the rules we were supposed to follow so they weren't allowed to object.

"Alright everyone, say cheese."

"Cheese!"

After the picture was taken, everyone's attention was drawn to someone yelling Neptune's name in a dramatic way.

"Huh? Did any of you just hear someone calling for Nep-nep?" Compa asked?

"I think it came from Planeptune tower." IF theorised. "Strange. We're basically at the edge of the nation. Whoever yelled must've been pretty mad at Neptune."

Neptune shrugged. "Probably one of my many fans yelling my name in adoration. I get that a lot."

"No you don't." Blanc corrected.

Noire cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "We should get going. We've wasted enough time standing around doing nothing."

Everyone agreed and thus our heroes had set off for their next destination. The Gamindustri Graveyard.

* * *

 **Entry number 45.2**

 **Gamindustri Graveyard**

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

 **BGM change: Pirachu's Theme – HyperDimension Neptunia**

"Alright, grunts Listen up." Underling shouted to her followers.

CFW Magic and CFW Trick were both standing right behind her and Warechu was standing right next to her. Viridi was also present, but she was standing to the side of the crowd rather than on the elevated stage like the others.

Thanks to some strange butterfly effect, both Warechu and Underling were now both promoted to commanders of ASIC's forces.

"This is Miss Linda speaking. The five of us have come up with one final plan to conquer Gamindustri. As you all know, our recent use of the ACU chips, created by Lady Viridi has failed. However, Sir Warechu has come up with a plan that utilizes these chips in a way they'll never see coming."

"Sir Warechu? Miss Linda? Lady Viridi? What?" Lilith asked, hiding behind a few rocks with the others.

They managed to sneak into the graveyard without any trouble whatsoever. All goons had gathered at the centre, so none of them were on guard duty.

"Lilith, this wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" Uni quietly asked.

Lilith shook her head. "Not in the slightest."

"So… what do we do now?" Ram asked, looking at the others.

"It would be best for us to wait until all of their lackeys have gone off to do whatever." Blanc answered. "We'll never beat them with this many of them. But we can easily defeat the five of them when they're alone. There's eleven of us and five of them. And there's only two of them are actually stronger than us. Maybe three if that Viridi person is as strong as she pretends to be."

"It would seem the odds are against them." Vert commented. "This does seem like the best plan of attack."

Underling, or rather 'Miss Linda', had continued her speech while the heroes were discussing their plan of attack.

"-So if we just force these ACU X chips onto the market, constructed from the remains of the ACU chips, we can make a fortune. Not only that, but they are actually really cheap to make compared to the old ACU chips. This way we can spend our finances on stronger equipment for every single one of you. In fact, every one of you will receive a rainbow shield, constructed by CFW Viridi, after the speech. Now who's with us!?"

"YEAH!" The entire crowd cheered.

When the speech was over, everyone received their equipment and left to spread their new ACU X chips.

"It's those weird shields again." Nepgear noted. "The one CFW Judge used against us."

"Uhm… I think now is a good time to attack." Rom suggested.

"Yeah. Let's ram these guy up their butts!" Ram cheered, with an unintentional pun.

Everyone else followed suit and charged forward.

Viridi saw the heroes coming first, but instead of warning her comrades, she instead turned tail and walked away. "I have no intention on fighting today."

Underling was the second to notice the CPU's moving towards them. "Huh? Oh snap, it's those idiots. They're here. CFW Magic, look!"

CFW Magic, which had been standing quietly with her eyes closed looked at the heroes charging at her. "… So they're here. And yet, they have no idea that they're outmatched."

She summoned her scythe and held it in one hand. "Trick. It's time for you to do your thing."

"Hm? Oh! It's my cute little angels again." Trick said as he licked his lips and slurped the saliva back into his mouth. "Oh, how I've been waiting for this. Gwehehe."

As the CPUs were about to collide with the ASIC leaders, snowflakes began falling from the sky.

 **BGM end**

 **Entry number 45.1**

 **Planeptune bassilicom**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

"Hello? Anyone still here?" I called as I entered the living room. "… Guess I just missed them."

Well I guess I'm a bit late. I was out for a walk and when I got back, I found a letter Vert had left me. 'We're heading out for the Gamindustri Graveyard. Come to Planeptune's bassilicom if you still want to join us.'

They could've just called me on my phone. I think Vert has my number. Heck, I know for a fact Histoire has it. Oh well. I guess it just slipped their mind.

"They should've told me they were gonna leave early in the morning." I complained to no one in particular.

But they shouldn't have too much trouble on their own. If anything, it should be a breeze. They're all at a decent level and they've got Lilith. There's no way they can lose… Watch me raise a death flag because of that. That'd be hilarious.

"I guess I'll just wait for them to get back."

I sat down on the couch and took my 4DS out of my bag. I always kept it in my lab coat. Just in case I'd get bored while working.

I also took out my phone and put my favourite playlist on.

 **BGM: Everyday Kemomimi – ANM48**

"…I don't remember putting this song on my playlist… It's upbeat… Japanese… I don't like it. In fact, I think I hate it." I said as I opened said playlist, just to find out the entire list had been replaced with a playlist I'd never seen before.

"… Uhm…"

I then noticed I had received a text a while ago. In fact, this was from just yesterday.

I quickly navigated through the phone's menu and opened the text.

' _Hey Geoff. I totally got you this new playlist. I stole your phone for it. When? Well… That's a lil secret :). Anyway, enjoy the music! It's a soundtrack from the hit anime of the year in Planeptune._

 _Lots of Love, Nep-Nep._ '

So she stole my phone and downloaded a playlist from some random anime… That's nice I guess. But where is my usual playlist?

…

…

…

It's gone… She deleted it.

"Well…. I guess I can just redownload it. I mean, I put it on my Spotify account so I can… Wait."

It was then that I realised Spotify doesn't exist in this dimension. Which means I'll have to wait a couple of decades before I can finally redownload the entire thing.

I took a deep breath… Inhale. Exhale. Pause… And then,

"NEPTUUUUUUUUUUUUUNE!"

 **(Optional) BGM end**

After calming myself, I decided to get some shrimp ice cream and a cold drink.

With my snacks at hand, I laid down on the couch and decided to play some Neptris to kill some time.

I booted the game up and set the it up for time attack. I just wanna beat my own hi-score. I got so close every single time. I know I can do it.

After the twentieth failed attempt, I threw my 4DS across the room in frustration.

"Stupid game…"

I should probably go distract myself with something else. Hmm…

Maybe I'll be nice to Vert and get her that new game she kept on talking about yesterday. I got some spare cash and it is multiplayer… Yeah. Let's go do that. I should also buy Lilith some ice cream while I'm at it. The parlour is right next to the game shop anyway… And I might as well buy some pudding for Nep while I'm there. And I guess I'll pick up some scrap for Nepgear to have fun with. The scrapyard and the pudding store (don't ask why there's an entire store devoted to pudding in Planeptune) just so happen to be in the same street.

I could also get Uni one of those new airguns. I think I heard Noire complain to everyone about how she's been talking about nothing but those things for the past few weeks now.

I just realised, the library is right next to the armoury. Weird choice, but pretty convenient. I could go and get Rom and Ram a new picture book. And Blanc would probably enjoy a normal novel.

"So what do I get Noire, Compa and IF?" I said out loud while picking up my 4DS and walking back to the couch.

I could get the nurse and the agent some pudding too, I guess. I would buy IF a new phone strap, but I'm sure everyone has done that by now.

And I would give Compa something cute and girly, but I'd probably pick something she doesn't even like.

Now for the hardest one. Noire. If only I was one of her many friends she kept on bragging about when she's with Neptune. That would make it so much easier.

"I guess I'll find something along the way."

After stuffing the rest of the ice cream in my mouth and finishing my drink, I got back up and headed for the mall.

It took me a while to find everything I needed, but in the end I found everything I needed. There weren't any lines, so I didn't have to waste any time on waiting.

"Alright. That should be everything. Except I still don't have anything for Noire."

I looked around to see if there were any stores selling anything Noire might like. To be honest, I have no clue what she likes. In fact, I've spoken the least with her out of all four goddesses. Right behind Blanc. But at least I she spoke to me when she invited everyone to Lowee.

It was then that it hit me. "Wait… Didn't Neptune say something about… Cosplay… Yeah. Noire's into cosplay, if I remember correctly."

Conveniently, there's a store right at the end of the street all about that stuff.

I decided buy her a pair of ribbons for her hair.

It'd be real awkward if she isn't actually into cosplay, so I'll play it safe and buy something a little more generic.

Right as I exited the shop, it started to snow.

"… Snow? In Planeptune? Gah. So this is what I get for being nice to the others for once. Well, it could be worse, I guess."

"Dogoo?"

"Hm?"

I turned around to see the same purple Dogoo from last time. "Kya-!..."

I immediately turned tail and ran back to the bassilicom. All while screaming in a very embarrassing way. Unfraternally, I accidently took a few wrong turns and ended up running through half of Planeptune before finally getting to the bassilicom.

After reaching the entrance of the bassilicom, I stopped to catch my breath. "Did I lose it?" I asked as I looked around to see if I was followed. After I confirmed it wasn't with me anymore, I called the elevator and got in.

 **BGM (change): Scrapped Upgrade Station – Team Fortress 2**

The elevator ride was pretty uneventful. Did I ever mention Planeptune's bassilicom is located on the top floor of a recreation of some monumental tower? I think they call it Planeptune tower or something. Real original.

Not going to lie though, the view you get is pretty amazing. Too bad the city is covered in snow. It would be a thousand times more beautiful if it wasn't.

While on the elevator ride back up, I began whistling along with the song. It's pretty catchy. It was then that someone began whistling along with me.

Enjoying the company, I kept on whistling. To my horror realised no one else should be in the elevator. Please don't tell me it's here with me.

I immediately turned around and, you guessed it, that same purple numbskull had followed me inside the elevator.

"Huh!? H-hey!? I, uhm… Take this!" I quickly emptied the plastic I was carrying and caught the Dogoo inside it.

"G-gotcha." I said as I knotted the top, so it couldn't escape. "Hold still!... Stop looking at me like that…. Hey, stop spitting that stuff at me!"

After I double checked the knot, I tossed the bag to the side and sat down.

"Ugh. Those things scare the living hell out of me."

*Ding*

The elevator made a bell sound, notifying it had reached the top floor. Before getting out, I gathered the things I had bought and the plastic bag with the Dogoo inside it.

When I stepped outside and got back in the living room, all four oracles were gathered in the living room. Each of them looked desperate. Kei was leaning against a window with one hand while looking down to the city. Chika was basically bawling in a corner, crying about her 'darling Vert'. Mina was sitting on the couch, leaning forward while covering her face with her hands. Histoire was floating in the middle of the room, gazing at nothing.

I waved my hand in front of Histoire's eyes. "Hey. Histoire. You there? Hello?"

"Huh? G-Geoffrey!? You're here? Where've you been?

"I just so happened to be out when Vert was about to pick me up. You could've just called me, you know?"

"In any case, I'm glad you're here."

"Why is that?"

Kei turned around and faced me. She looks terrible. Her hair is out of model, her clothes are all wrinkled and her eyes were red from crying. Never thought I'd ever get to see Kei like this.

In fact, now that I look at it, everyone looks pretty overworked. Well… this certainly is gonna get good.

"It's… Noire and the others. They… T-they…" She closed her eyes and paused. Whatever she wanted to say wasn't easy.

This is getting real dark real quick. Funny enough, the elevator music is still playing. I can't really take them serious with that tune in the background.

"Come on. Spit it out. I don't have all day." I impatiently tapped my foot. "Just tell me who got beaten up so badly and say they've defeated the Deity of Sin or whatever. Or maybe they didn't and someone died. Big deal." I mumbled the last part. No one seems to have heard me.

Mina got up from the couch and also faced me. "Please. You do not understand. It's not that simple. Rom, Ram and even Blanc. They-…"

"Quit building the suspense. I just told you my time is precious."

I was abruptly grabbed by my shoulders and forced to turn around by Chika. She grabbed me by my collar and lifted me up. "You idiot!" She yelled. "Why don't YOU shut up for once. My sweet darling Vert is stuck in that terrible graveyard once again and it's all your fault!"

"Stuck in the-, what the heck are you rambling about?"

"Chika, please, calm yourself. This is no way an oracle should act." Kei said as he gently pushed her away from me.

"S-sorry." She apologised. She took a deep breath and began her explanation. "You see… just a moment ago, we got a message from ASIC."

"So what was it?" I asked as I sat down on the couch next to Mina. "Like… What did it say?"

"… The CPUs…" Histoire continued. "Neptune and the others have every last leader of ASIC-"

"That's good news."

"-Every last of them, but one. CFW Magic. She has defeated them all and is now keeping them captive somewhere in the Gamindustri Graveyard.."

 **BGM end**

* * *

 **And then there was a huge reveal plus cliff hanger at the end. Because that's not annoying at all.**

 **To be fair though, most of you probably saw the results of the battle between the CPUs and ASIC coming from miles away (if you've read the A/N at the start of the story). I wouldn't be able to write multiple parts if the battle was over in part one already, right?**

 **Anyway, as some sort of consultation, I can already tell you next chapter's story board is already planned out (mostly). In fact, the first part was going to be part of this chapter, but I cut it out so I won't make any chapters that are over 6k words.**

 **But it might take just as long to get next chapter done. Why?... Well... Life. That's why.**

 **See you guys later.**

 **-Porpol**


	14. Chapter 13: Snow Rose

**Hey everyone.**

 **I don't have a lot to say before the story. Most of the stuff I want to say is for after the story.**

 **So enjoy today's chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Snow Rose**

 **Undocumented entry**

 **Somewhere between Leanbox and Planeptune**

 **POV: IF**

The ferry that would take me back to Planeptune just departed a minute go with me on it. It's going to take a while before I get back on land again, so I might as well call Histoire now.

"Yes? This is Histoire speaking."

"Hey Histoire. It's IF."

"Oh. Hello IF. What's the matter? Did something happen?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you a small favour."

"A favour? What's the matter?"

IF sat down and looked out the window at the setting sun. "Yeah. There's something that's been bothering me. It's about Geoffrey and Lilith."

"Hm? What about them?"

"Don't you think they act kind of strange? Well, in any case, I'll get straight to the point. Could you do a background check on both of them?"

Histoire fell silent for a moment. "It might take a fairly long time to do so, considering neither of them are from Gamindustri. Unless you might find something that contains a lot of information about them like a journal or a diary."

I took a moment to think about it. Does either one of them have something like a journal?

"Hmm…. Wait. I'm pretty sure Geoff does have a journal. We could use that."

"Are you certain? We'd still be invading his privacy. Not only that, but it'd take three days before I can complete my research."

"In other words, you'll be done after our planned assault on the Gamindustri Graveyard."

"Indeed. I do hope that won't be a problem."

While I'd rather have the background check before the attack, I know I can't rush Histoire. For some reason, everything she does takes at least three days. "That's alright. I just need the info before it's too late. The main issue would be getting our hands on his journal."

"Very well. Do you have a plan on how you'd get it?"

It was then that a familiar cheery girl entered the room on the other side of the call. "Hey. Histy. Have you seen Nep Jr. anywhere?"

Histoire sighed. "Please. Be patient Neptune. I'm on the phone with IF."

"Huh? But we just spoke a minute ago… Hum. Iffy and Histy. I ship it."

"S-shut it, Nep!" I yelled through the phone. "We're seriously busy here."

"Really? How so?"

I sighed. It'd be wrong to leave her out. She is a CPU after all.

After filling her in, all Nep did was just laugh. "Really? That's where you're going with this plot? No one wants to read about you sneaking into Leanbox and stealing a journal. I'll just do it off screen."

"Wait, you can actually do that?" I asked.

"Duh. I'm a protagonist among the protagonists after all. In fact, I'll just go now. Be back in an hour."

"Neptune, wait!" Histoire called. "… Ah. She's already gone."

"Well, unless she screws up, we got our journal. I can presume you'll get to work as soon as she gets back."

"Of course. You'll have your background check done within a little more than three days. It might take a little longer, because of the other matters I have to attend to."

"I understand. Take your time."

And with that I hung up and pocketed my phone. My intuition is probably wrong, but won't hurt to check either way.

* * *

 **Entry number 45.1 (continued)**

 **Planeptune bassilicom**

 **POV: Histoire**

 **BGM: Unsettling Atmosphere – Pokémon Sun & Moon**

"… The CPUs…Neptune and the others have every last leader of ASIC-"

"That's good news."

"-Every last of them, but one. CFW Magic. She has defeated them all and is now keeping them captive somewhere in the Gamindustri Graveyard.."

"Come again?" Geoffrey immediately asked. "… All of them."

I nodded to confirm his question.

"… All four CPUs and CPU candidates."

I nodded again with closed eyes.

"So all CPUs AND whoever went with them?"

I nodded one last time. When I reopened my eyes, I saw Geoffrey's face slowly turning to an angry expression.

"P-please. Calm yourself. We can still-"

Geoffrey gestured me to stop. "Hold that thought." He said as he got back into the elevator. "Be right back."

"Hey. Where are you going?" Chika asked.

Geoffrey didn't respond and closed the elevator doors.

I decided to not waste a moment and go after him. I opened a window and hovered out of it, following the elevator.

After the elevator finally reached the ground floor, Geoffrey stepped out.

"Wait. Geoffrey!" I called.

"… Crap." Geoffrey silently cursed as he turned to me. "I said I'd be right back, right? Couldn't you just… You know, just wait?"

"It looks to me like you were about to leave. Where are you going?"

Geoffrey sighed as he resumed walking. "I'm gonna go ahead and pack my stuff back in Leanbox. Then I'll come back to Planeptune so you can send me home."

"Send you home?"

"Send me home." He repeated.

"But… What about us? Gamindustri? Everyone else? We can't afford to find someone else to help us in such a short time span. We must act now!"

"… There's a difference between taking a risk and committing suicide. This never was my problem, Histoire."

"What? You yourself approved of my plan to face ASIC head on at the graveyard. This is isn't just your problem. It is also ours."

"Well you decided to listen to a common human-being that isn't even from your dimension and has no idea how your rules and affairs work, right?"

"That's… Not untrue." I said while averting his gaze, slightly embarrassed about my decision.

"Look… What I'm trying to say is that I can't do it. I'd fail, die and then the entire population of Gamindustri perishes."

"So what you're saying is that you're afraid to fail? And you wish to go home to avoid dying?"

Geoffrey slowly nodded. "I know, it's cowardice and I'm the only hope left, but I can't do it. I'm sorry. I hope you understand."

"… You're lying."

 **BGM change: Camille Login – League of Legends**

As soon as the words left my mouth, he stopped and turned to face me. "Excuse me?"

"… _Entry Number 14."_ I began, as I read said entry from memory. " ' _Just killed Vince. He was a douche. And also a time traveller that came back from the future to stop me from going to Gamindustri.'_ I'll skip to the point for you. I quote: _'Gamindustri seems very interesting. Very profitable. And perhaps my ticket to truly get what I want. I'll take the next few months or so to plan out how I want to conquer it. So I-'_

"Stop it." He interrupted. "Alright. Where'd you get that intel?"

I then took the journal Neptune had taken from Leanbox out of my hammerspace.

"… Where did you even keep that? How'd you even get that?" Geoffrey asked. "Whatever… So you figured me out…"

"You wish to make profit out of Gamindustri. Throw over all four nations through legal means and then travel back to your own dimension to do… something. I couldn't quite make it out from your notes."

"If you must know, once I'm done in Gamindustri, I'll go back to make my father's wish come true."

"Your father? If you're willing to jump from one dimension to another for him then he-"

"I killed him."

"-must be a very respectable ma-…. What?"

"I killed him."

"Killed who?"

"My father."

"… Wait. Was it an accident?"

"Not an accident."

"…"

"…"

We both just stared at each other for a moment. I'm kind having trouble comprehending what he's telling.

"You… want to grand his wish but you killed him?"

"Yeah."

"So you wish to please him. But you also hated him?"

"Yes."

"I don't think I understand."

Geoffrey appeared to smirk. "You don't need to understand it. In fact, right now I'm wondering why I haven't killed you yet? Last time someone found out the secret behind the Glory Formula, I killed him on the spot."

"The… Glory Formula?"

"… Oh..." He rubbed the back of his head and looked around. "…. Awkward."

I do vaguely recall the 'Glory Formula' being mentioned in some entries. However, it was never actually defined what it was used for. It was usually used in the context of 'being used' by Geoffrey and being created by a mixture of the 'Fame Formula', the 'Mind mixture' and the 'Rage serum'.

Geoffrey cleared his throat in an attempt to change the subject. "Ahem… In any case. Heh. So what are you going to do?" He asked with a mocking tone. "Fine me for conspiring against the CPUs of Gamindustri? Put me on trial for stealing shares from the Planeptune and Leanbox Sharicite room? Lock me up for manipulating a group of unfaithful citizens into working against the goddesses."

He stepped closer and posed in an intimidating way. "Do whatever you want. I have the Citizen Group covering my behind when you do something."

"I am well aware. Entry number 37, am I correct?"

"38, actually." He corrected.

"Right. Entry number 38. You somehow convinced the Citizen Group you're a prophet of a goddess that doesn't even exist and now they follow you like 'stray dogs' as you called them. If someone of the bassilicom were to harm you or lock you up, they'd believe it was because of your 'preaching'. It would cause riots in all nations."

"You really did do your homework." He complimented. "But what I want to know is why you're telling me all of this."

"Huh?"

"Well… Why are you telling me you know of my plans and all? I mean, you only got half of it right or something, but you get my point."

I took a deep breath before explaining. "Despite your intentions, ASIC will destroy Gamindustri as we know it if we don't do anything. So perhaps I can make you a proposal."

"A proposal?"

"Perhaps we should take a seat first." I said while gesturing towards a bench under the tree in the middle of the town square.

Geoffrey let out a scoff as he walked over to the bench and put his bags beside them. "So what do mean you by 'proposal'?" He asked as he whipped the snow of the bench and sat down.

"First, I'd like to know what you really want to get out of Gamindustri. What's your main goal."

"…"

"You've made some elaborate plans to take over Gamindustri. Half of these events I don't even understand."

"… Meh. Whatever. I might as well just spoil the entire plot for you."

"What do you mean?"

Geoffrey then explained everything that had happened in the past year. The time travellers, The CPU memory, the future journal and his disease.

"I see… To think there's been so much more behind ASIC's newest member."

"Aye." Geoffrey confirmed. "That Viridi is here to get me killed. It's pretty unlikely she's here to help ASIC."

"Do you perhaps know why she's here?" I asked.

"Hm? I just told you didn't I?"

"That's not what I mean. I mean, why did she come to Gamindustri to kill you? Wouldn't it be easier to travel back to the exact moment you returned back home and kill you there?"

"Huh… That is a good question. I mean, probably not for Gamindustri's sake. She sided with ASIC, so that can't be it. Hm. Some brain fodder for later, I suppose."

"In any case, about the proposal. You still haven't told me what you really want."

"… You won't give it to me any way. Why do you think I've been making so many schemes?"

"Isn't that the point of a compromise?" I asked. "Perhaps I can partially give you what you want."

"And in trade I help save the CPUs and not kill them?"

"Wait, you were going to kill them!?" I asked with widened eyes.

He covered his mouth with one of his hand and quickly looked away. "… Awkward. Uhm…"

I sighed. Despite all of his confessions, I still can't arrest him. As of now, he's our only hope. Even if he isn't good by heart. "Just… Tell me what your demands are before I change my mind."

"… Here's another story. I like to call this one 'Constructing the Nightmare Engine'."

"What does it have to do with what you want?"

"You'll see."

Geoffrey took a small piece of paper out of his pocket.

" _Entry 00. Constructing the Nightmare Engine"_ He read out loud. " _It all started back in those days. Days I'd rather forget. Days I'd rather never visit again. It was these days that shaped who I am today. The proud company president of T.O.W. (even though I pretty much hate the state the company is in as of now [still fixing it])._

 _All things start with birth. Mine wasn't any different. Except my mother died during birth and my father, James Lance, blamed me for it. I know. Unfair. And what's worse is that he held that grudge until his end. His sweet end._

 _However, most people considered him to be one of the greatest minds of all time. In fact, the Lance family had a long running history of brilliant minds of scientists. Over the years they'd gotten enough money to buy luxuries like a mansion and an entire estate for themselves. Being part of the Lance family was a great honour…. Unless you're not a prodigy._

 _I remember how he lectured me. Over. And over. And over. Every mistake I made in school. Every mistake I made at home school. And this was back in the day physical punishment wasn't uncommon. I wasn't THAT good with chemistry. Which would be a major disappointment for our family name._

 _I remember my father's final words before he gave me his final gift. 'You're a disgrace. A mistake. A disappointment. But at least with this, you'll be the foundation to immortalising our name. My name.' An ambitious plan. Too bad it worked a little too well."_

 **POV: Viridi**

 **BGM change: Lusamine Encounter – Pokemon Sun & Moon**

I tightened my coat as I walked across the streets of Planeptune. As I'm making my way towards the bassilicom, I was thinking on how to even approach the oracle. Word has probably spread about me being part of ASIC, so they'll probably think I'm some sort of a villain. If only they knew the real evil is among them.

But I need to somehow convince them I'm not their enemy. I could've sent Domino or Seraphine. But Domino still thinks she's better off working in the shadows and Seraphine is still anxious about even showing her face.

When I reached the town square, I saw a familiar man in purple sitting next to the oracle of Planeptune on one of the benches. "… Well now. Perhaps I can fix the future. Here and now."

 **POV: Geoffrey**

" _-And after that I stabbed my father once more with that syringe. This time I hit his heart, causing him slowly bleed out uncontrollably. I remember his final words._

 _'L-Luc- *ack* * cough* *urk*. L-listen. P-p-please. Do…. N-not. Let our name…'_

 _'Shhh.' I shushed him. 'You'll be in a better place. Soon. And don't worry. The name Lance will not be disgraced. In fact, with your invention I'll be able to immortalise it.'_

 _A smile appeared on my father's face. 'G-good…'_

 _I crouched down to get closer to his dying eyes. 'There's only one problem though.'_

 _'W-what's… T-that? *cough*'_

 _'… All your life's work will be credited to me. Not to you.'_

 _'What!?'_

 _'That's right. You'll be forgotten, and I'll become famous for MY work… Now. Go to hell.' I grabbed a chair and hit him on the head with it, killing him instantly.'_

 _With that said, I finally realised my true goal in life. To ensure everyone will remember my name."_

I folded the pages of entry 00 and put them back in my breast pocket. "I think you've got a pretty good idea now."

I didn't really bother to look at Histoire during the story. But when I did, I saw she was listening to every word closely. "So… You simply wish to be famous?" She asked.

"Not just famous. I want to make this world and mine a better place and be recognised for it. And I think you yourself can see what I mean by 'these CPUs are nothing but bad stuff.' I mean, you're ageless and all and you can't even prevent an organisation like ASIC from getting too powerful. Whatever happened to all the experience you've got from all those years of managing an entire nation. They could've just stopped them before they'd get out of hand, right?"

"I can see why you think your actions are justified… But I can't simply allow you to actually kill the CPUs and take over Gamindustri."

"Well, now you know what I want. So what do you offer?"

"… You are in the possession of a CPU memory, correct?"

"Yeah. It's going to become the cure for my disease once I know how to use it. What about it?"

"Perhaps I can tell you how to use it. That way you can let your name become known through your own nation in Gamindustri."

"Meh. I'll know how to use in in about three years. There's no point in knowing it now."

"Very well. Then how about-"

Right as Histoire was about to make another offer, a shuriken flew past our heads, getting stuck in the three behind us.

"What the hell?"

I quickly got up and looked around to see where it came from.

"Your reign has gone on for long enough, Void Heart." A voice calmly stated.

"Tsk. Yeah. Real funny. Now you gonna show your ugly mug or what?"

"… Up here, gramps." The voice called.

I turned around towards the source of the voice and looked up the tree. Standing on one of the thicker branches was a women wearing a white raincoat and a grey scarf around her neck. Wait… We were right under that tree. How'd she manage to throw something horizontally past our heads if she was up there?

"Who… Are you?" I asked as I backed off to get a better look at the woman that looked an awful lot like Lilith.

Without an answer, she jumped down and landed right in front of Histoire. "… Lady Histoire. Please stay where you are."

"Uhm… O-of course." Histoire hesitantly complied, slightly nervous because of the woman's calm attitude.

She then turned to me. "So we finally meet. Geoffrey."

"Indeed we do… I uhm… I've been dying to meet you… You are… someone very important after all."

She raised an eyebrow as she took a few steps forward. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

"… Does the name Viridi ring a bell?"

My eyes widened as she mentioned her name. I immediately summoned a bomb and equipped my claw (see Lost Entry 3 for claw info). "So you're here in Vince's place."

"Indeed. I thought my brother could've taken care of you himself."

Brother, huh? So she also holds a personal grudge against me for killing him. Just great. "Just get to the point. You're standing between me and an act of heroism. I think you're the one on the wrong side of the tracks here."

"It's not what you do here. It's what you do when you get back from home." She said as she took her coat and scarf off, revealing her red denim jacket and blue torn jeans… Not gonna lie, that is some 'waifu' material. One of Vert's books kept on mentioning that word. Did I use it right?

-" ** _You didn't use it right_** **.** "

-" _How do you know?_ "

-" ** _… Because reasons._** "

Whatever. I should probably mentally prepare myself for the fight.

"W-wait!" Histoire exclaimed.

"Lady Histoire, didn't I tell you to stay put?" Viridi asked as she glared at her.

"B-but this is not time to fight each other! You claimed to be a hero, correct? You don't look like you're misguided like CFW Brave. Why do you work against us?"

"… It's pretty hard to kill an ally, don't you think?" She drew her katana and held in one hand. "Fear not. I'll get the CPUs out of the graveyard once I've finished him off."

"You will?" Me and Histoire asked at the same time.

Viridi nodded. "You may have fooled everyone else. But we know the truth."

She gave her blade a few swings and took an assault stance. "This is it. The final battle. I've been waiting for this moment all my life. Prepare yourself."

I scratched the back of my head. "God. This chick makes less sense with every word she spits out. Who's we? What did I even do when I got back? I didn't plan that far ahead."

I readjusted my stance and got battle ready. Future warrior or not, what I do is right. What they do wrong. Just keep that in mind, Geoff. Just keep that in mind.

For a moment we both just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. She looks like she's been through quite a few battles before. And judging from what Vince said, she probably knows me pretty well. Which means she also knows my fighting style.

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

 **BGM: Vim and Vigor – Kingdom Hearts**

Getting impatient, Geoffrey decided to make the first move. "Dodge!" he warned as he threw a bomb at her.

As the bomb neared her, she cleanly cut it in half, causing the two halves to explode behind her as she ran towards him.

"Clean…" Geoffrey complimented under his breath. "See if you can keep up with this." He summoned several freeze vials and tossed them towards his attacker.

Viridi cut through the first vial, which proved to be a mistake. It instantly froze her blade. As she tried to cut through the second one, the blade broke and she got covered by some of the cryogenic fluids.

"Don't get COLD feet now." Geoffrey taunted as he charged forward and slashed at her. Viridi saw it coming and quickly toughened through the cold to block his attack.

The both of them traded blow after blow, neither of them letting down. Viridi then jumped back and threw a shuriken at Geoffrey, hitting him in his shoulder. "Ow!"

Histoire covered her mouth in shock as she saw some blood come out of the wound. While she wasn't really afraid of violence, she was still not too fond of blood.

Geoffrey looked at the wound for a moment before pulling the shuriken out like it was nothing. "C'mon. Ya gotta hit me with something I can actually feel."

She narrowed her eyes and took a defensive stance. "How about another seven of those?"

In the blink of an eye, Viridi quickly disappeared before reappearing at the same spot.

"…"

"…"

"…"

They both stared at each other. Viridi's eyes slowly went wide over time.

"uhm… What's up?" Geoffrey asked.

"… How are you still standing?"

"Pardon?"

"… Check your back."

"My back?" He quickly put his hand on his back, only to quickly pull his hand back. "ouch. I cut myself… huh?"

He turned his head to check what happened to his back. To his surprise, about seven shuriken's had impaled him without him noticing. "Oh… Dang, you're fast."

He then quickly pulled out all of the shuriken's while both Histoire and Viridi were stunned at his rather strange resistance to pain. " _He'd feel a little cut on his finger but didn't even flinch when she hit him from behind!?_ " Histoire thought with plate-like eyes.

As he was done, he tossed the shuriken's to the side. "Alright. No more playing games. Get ready!" He summoned another set of freezing vials and tossed them at Viridi.

"You missed." Viridi taunted as she swiftly dodged everything.

Realising he'd never hit her at this rate, Geoffrey charged at Viridi with his claw ready.

Viridi blocked the attack, putting the two in a deadlock.

"Your death will be a slow one."

"You talk a lot for a dead man, Mister Geoffrey."

Viridi quickly glanced around, trying to come up with a strategy to win the battle. She then noticed the plastic bag with the Dogoo in it beside Histoire. "That's it!"

As she was distracted, Geoffrey quickly pulled back and punched her in the gut.

As the air left her lungs, she fell to the ground, gasping for air. Mercilessly, Geoffrey put his foot on her head to keep her from getting back up. "Just as disappointing as your brother. Unlike him though, I won't give you a chance to do anything funky."

He took out a flask with a cross-bone icon on it. "Not even your bones can resist this."

She desperately tried to get back up, but to no avail. However, before Geoffrey could finish her off, she quickly took a kunai out from 'somewhere' and jabbed it in his foot.

"Agh." Geoffrey cried in pain as he staggered backwards, releasing Viridi.

Using this time, she quickly ran over to the plastic bag and undid the knot.

"Dogoo?" For a moment the cute, but 'terrifying' Dogoo looked around, slightly confused about what happened.

"Hey there fella." Viridi greeted as she pointed at Geoffrey. "See that big, mean man? He's the one that put you in the bag. Get him!"

"Goo! Dogoo!" It cried as it happily skipped towards Geoffrey.

"Huh?... AW HELL NOOOOOO!" He cried as he limped off as fast as he could while dropping the poisonous flask.

With the Dogoo chasing him, Geoffrey desperately tried to lose it by limping around the plaza, all while losing quite a bit of blood because of his injuries. This left some read marks on the snow he walked by.

"… I kind of imagined this to be a little more dramatic." Viridi insulted.

While trying to escape, he got near Viridi. She quickly kicked the Dogoo away while using another kunai to get his unharmed foot stuck to the concrete.

"Oof!" He cried as he fell over while dropping a few unarmed bombs.

"… Hmmm…." Viridi quickly thought of a plan on how to finish him off.

She took one of the bombs and threw it against the giant tree in the middle of the plaza. With half of the trunk gone, the tree fell over towards Geoffrey.

When Geoffrey noticed the tree's shadow get bigger, he turned towards it. "Huh!?

AWHELLNOYOUBITC-" * **CRASH***

 **BGM end**

Histoire forced herself to look away as the tree fell. When she opened her eyes again, she noticed the snow all around Geoffrey had turned red.

"…mmph…grrphmrmrph….fffckgg…" He groaned from under the tree.

Despite all of the punishment he's taken, Geoffrey was somehow still alive. Crippled, very likely. But alive.

Viridi let out a sigh before retrieving her coat and putting it back on. "So much for that."

She turned to Histoire. "Now then. Perhaps you and I can talk in peace now."

* * *

 **POV: Geoffrey**

…

…

…

Ow… That really, really hurt. Ugh. Alright. Calm down. You got a hole in both your feet, lost as much blood as an anime protagonist in a final battle and probably broke a few bones. Let's try moving my right arm.

OKAY! LET'S NOT MOVE THAT ARM! OW!... let's try moving a leg… Hum. Alright. It's not broken. Somehow. Good. Let's try pushing this tree to the side with it.

Slowly, but steadily I managed to get the tree off of me. Eventually, I freed myself.

Ugh… I lost again, didn't I? How many times is that? Let's see… I deliberately lost against Underling first time I got here. That's one. Then I technically lost against Lilith on that ship when Uni stopped us. I mean, she did get in the most hits on me so it's only fair. Then there was that high number off Dogoo's… Can't say I won that. Then there was that fight against that buffed up rat which I would've lost if it wasn't for Chika and Compa. So not really a win for me. Then there was the fight against CFW Judge which we won… No wait. I didn't do anything that fight. I can't count that.

…

Uhh…

Wait. I lost every single fight that I was on my own… Seriously!? Ugh. That's so lame.

Damn it. I didn't want to waste any money real money on Gamindustri. But I guess I'll have to use some of that Fame Formula juice… It's so expensive though… Oh well.

Using my free arm, I filled my syringe claw with a healthy dose of Fame Formula. "Let's get serious."

The Fame Formula. One of my father's inventions. I could tell you how it's made. But it's a trade secret. All you need to know is that it is a hyper healing drug. It accelerates a human body's healing. Fatal wounds become just small paper cuts in mere seconds. Broken bones become minor cramps. Even gallons of lost blood become small tea cups you'd use for those kiddie tea parties.

When I injected the dose, I could feel its healing components kick in. Within a few seconds all the pain was gone and I could freely move my limbs again. "Can't get enough of this stuff."

When I got back up, I noticed Viridi casually chatting away with Histoire…. Oh she's so gonna get it.

I snapped a thick branch off the tree and held it in two hands.

"Sneaky… Sneaky." I whispered as I tiptoed behind her.

When I got close enough, I hit her in the back of the head and knocked her out cold.

"Ha! I win!" I celebrated. Histoire on the other hands was even more shocked than before.

"Y-You're alive!? But how!?"

"Trade secret. Anyway, throw that woman in prison for conspiring against the CPUs through ASIC and for assaulting a civilian."

"She… Has good intentions though."

"Well I could kill her and dispose of the body in such a way not even an all seeing tome can reconstruct what happened."

"P-please don't. Alright. Alright. We'll put her on trial. Just don't do anything rash."

"Tsk. Whatever… Hey. I've been thinking. I think I know just the thing I want in trade of my service."

"What's that?"

A devious smile appeared on my face. "You're the all-seeing tome, right?"

"That I am."

I put my hands on my hips and took a proud stance. "If I rescue the CPUs, you'll allow me to read in your little tome to my leisure."

"W-what!? Unacceptable. I cannot allow that by any means. Especially to people with such intentions."

"Aww. Come on. I only want to take a few sneak peaks. And I'll tell you what I'll be looking for. Heck, I'll throw in a little extra. You let me have a few peaks and I promise I'll leave the CPUs alone."

Histoire was still sceptical about the whole ordeal. She has no reason to believe me. But if she does, it's out of desperation. Probably because I just defeated the one other person capable of freeing the CPUs from ASIC.

"… Do you promise?" She asked after a while.

"Promise." I confirmed.

"… I'll think about your offer. But for now, I would like you to return to the bassilicom with me. We have much to discuss with the other oracles."

"I do hope you mean our plan of attack and not the whole 'future journal' stuff."

"Of course…" Histoire said as she looked away. She looks pretty defeated right now. If anything, she's wearing this kind of 'what have I done' expression. Well… No point in thinking about it now. I got what I want and even more.

Soon…

Very soon…

I won't rest until it's all mine.

* * *

 **And end of chapter 13.**

 **So as you can probably tell, this was the 'big reveal' chapter. You can probably piece the full 'entry 00' together if you use all the clues given throughout the story. I won't say it directly, of course. So if you still don't get it, you'll have to wait for a fairly long time until entry 00 actually becomes fully available ;P'**

 **Anyway, with the big reveal out of the way I actually want to make a small request.**

 **We've covered a lot of the story and are nearing the end of Re;Birth 2 (I'm guessing we've only got about 2 – 3 chapters left before the final chapter). Obviously, the story will slowly shift towards Re;Birth 3. But before that I kind of would like to make a request.**

 **I usually don't come out and say it, but I actually would like to know what you guys think of the story so far. Namely this chapter. Did I make the backstory too complex? Maybe too cliché? Maybe you completely dislike the idea of one of the main characters being a secret antagonist. Or maybe you don't like the motive I've given Geoffrey. I can't tell. So if you've got time, leave a review. Preferably one with some critique. It would be a great help if you could.**

 **Also, for those of you who really liked Viridi, don't you worry. She'll be back. Probably not before the end of Re;Birth 2. But at least she'll be far more significant in the ultradimension.**

 **So until then.**

 **-Porpol**


	15. Chapter 14: And they end

**EDIT 15/8/17 : Added line breaks. (I forgot. It's been a while)**

 **Hey everyone. I'm just going to ignore the fact I put the story on an unannounced hiatus and stopped uploading for about half a year. (But I did add a recap in the chapter list which I'll be removing after chapter 15's release. So read while you can.)**

 **But we're back now and with a chapter twice as long as previous chapters. Plus, I'll be trying to upload on a regular basis again.**

 **I got nothing else to say, so here goes.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: And they end.**

 **Entry number 46**

 **Gamindustri Graveyard**

 **POV: Geoffrey**

 **BGM: Hyper Dimension Neptunia – Stir the Darkness**

After that little incident back in Planeptune, Histoire and I had a long winded negotiation on what I should get and what I shouldn't get for rescuing the CPUs. In the end I got about half of what I wanted. Access to the sharicite room, limited amounted of share crystals to use for samples and any crimes I had so far committed would be overlooked. Even though the only crime I committed was breaking in the sharicite room, but whatever.

What's the downside? Well… She'd only agree to these conditions if a guild agent was allowed to keep track of everything I would do. Specifically IF. And if she finds anything suspicious, she'll put me behind bars. I am also not allowed to conspire against the CPUs anymore.

A bit annoying. But nothing I can't deal with. At least I'll get full credit for saving them. Which means my name will be somewhat known throughout Gamindustri. Plus, I might be able to turn this with my trump card. But I'll worry about that later.

"… I hate this place." I complained to no one in particular. "It's cold. It's desolate. And there's snow now. Can this get any worse? Seriously. It never snowed outside Lowee in the future journal. Why is it snowing now?"

" _Well… It can always be worse."_ Histoire said through her strange communication device thing… I dunno what it is. She gave me this strange purple necklace with the Planeptune logo engraved on it. Apparently it's a communication device only Histoire can use.

"Oh. You were listening in?" I asked while walking. "How does this thing even work?"

" _That's not important. What is, is that you are nearing the first targeted area. Be ready."_

My first target. CFW Trick. Even if he was defeated, he somehow survived the assault. Another sign the CPUs truly are incompetent.

Anyway, I'll keep this brief. Histoire managed to pinpoint where the CPUs (and company) were being held in the graveyard in three days (which I used to grind for a few extra levels). Most CPUs were held captive at the centre of the graveyard, right next to the Deity of Sin's seal. Strange enough, two CPUs were held in a remote prison. It's about ten minutes away from the others.

Now take a guess. We got CFW Trick guarding two CPUs in a remote place. What CPUs is he guarding?

If you guessed Rom and Ram, you are correct. And for some reason they're wearing school girl uniforms… That sick pervert must've changed them into it.

Just like Histoire told me, within a few minutes I reached CFW Trick's isolated spot.

"N-no! It's so icky!" Rom lamented.

"H-hey you pervert. Put us down. Put us down!" Ram yelled.

CFW Trick, which was licking the twins all over in a disgusting manner. He didn't listen to either of their complains though. "Oh I simply can't do that. CFW Magic herself has allowed me to keep you two all for myself. I wouldn't dream of letting such an opportunity go to waste. Kyahahaha!"

Disgusted by this, I approached the monster. "Hey. You! Yeah. You!" I yelled.

"Hm? Hey. Aren't you that corpse that got in my way back in Lowee?" CFW Trick asked.

"It's been a while since anyone has called me old." I mumbled while sweat dropping. "But yes, that's me. I came here to tell you that you dropped something."

"What's that?" He obliviously asked.

Right as the words left his mouth, I threw a small barrage of bombs at his face, causing him to stagger back and drop the twins.

"Your guard. You dropped your guard." I clarified with a smirk.

I looked over towards the twins. They weren't hurt. To be expected, considering that pig's saliva has 'healing components' as he phrased it.

"M-mister Geoffrey? Did you… Come to safe us?" Rom asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. You girls okay?"

"We-We're fine." Ram confirmed. "But that big dummy drooled all over our clothes and put us in these weird outfits and… and…" She began to shudder as she recalled the event.

"Hey. Hey. It's over now, alright. Just sit back and watch uncle Geoff take care of the big bad pig, alright?"

-" ** _Uncle? Really?"_**

-" _They're kids. How else are you supposed to reassure them? I never raised any kids."_

CFW Trick let out a laugh as he recovered. "You? Fight me? All on your own? Ha. You won't last a minute." He lashed his tongue out towards us. The three of us barely jumped out of the way.

"Sit back girls. This one is mine." I said as I took out my claw.

The battle between me and Trick was pretty back and forth. Any time I'd get a hit on him he'd lick himself and heal right back up. Quite a nasty ability. And despite his rather grotesque appearance, he was rather quick on his feet. Combined with his powerful tongue lashes and his ability to heal himself, Trick proved to be a tricky opponent indeed. No pun intended.

However, our battle was cut short by the twins. The now transformed Rom and Ram had fired a powerful ice spell at the lolicon and froze him in place.

"I've been wanting to bash in your skull since the first time we beat you up." Ram shouted.

"You hurt our friends. I won't forgive you for that." Rom in a more composed but intimidating manner.

Seeing their determination, I decided to back off and allow them to finish this. "Guess my losing streak won't end just yet."

They should be able to handle themselves. I can't waste too much time on them. I have to get to the others and quick.

I was about to leave when I noticed something.

"Hm. Wait. Those outfits. They're different…"

I quickly realised what had happened. Like Histoire had said before, a CPU candidate can unlock some kind of next form if they're faced with great danger or filled with enough determination. And if what Uni said about her new outfit is true, then this must mean Rom and Ram also achieved this next form.

It was then I had some kind of epiphany.

"Wait… Uni, Rom and Ram all unlocked some kind of next form… Nepgear didn't. She should've."

 **Train of thought:**

Future journal: _Nepgear unlock next form at graveyard after defeating CFW Judge Others unlock it after her CPUs challenge CFW Magic Happy end_

Present time: _Nepgear doesn't unlock next form at graveyard Others unlock it before her CPUs challenge CFW Magic Bad end_

Hmm… Nepgear. She somehow never unlocked her powers at the graveyard. Wasn't she supposed to get hers from the mascots? What even happened to those? I'll have to look into that later because it seems Rom and Ram are about done.

"AGH!" Trick cried as he got hit by a combined Ice Coffin from the twins. "I couldn't… Have asked for a more… Pleasant end… Getting killed by two cuties isn't so bad… Hehehe."

He then fell flat on his back and exploded into binary numbers.

"Eww…. I'm going to have nightmares about that big pervert for a long time." Rom shuddered.

"Don't even think about it, Rom." Ram scolded. "Not even in your dreams. That's what he wants."

"Okay. I'll try."

Satisfied, they reverted back to their human form and happily ran towards me. Strange. I thought they were wearing school girl outfits. They somehow got their normal clothes back.

"Did you see us back there?" Ram cheerfully shouted. "We were totally like BAM and BOOM! And that pervert was like 'Ah. Stop hitting me. Ah my face!'"

Rom nodded. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh."

"You two did great. He was like… totally powerless against you two." I said with a fake smile to encourage them both. "Keep this up and we'll destroy ASIC in no time."

Rom and Ram both looked at each other before looking back at me. "Hey. Dude. We're amazing, but we're still just kids." Ram said.

"We can't do this on our own." Rom added.

Hum… Unexpected. They actually know they're out matched. Who knew they would actually not get overconfident.

"Oh don't talk like that." I replied. "You've got me on your side now."

They looked at each other once more before Rom spoke up. "Uhm… mister Geoffrey?"

"Yeaaah… Nothing rude. I don't really think you'll make an impact." Ram said. "If I'm being honest, to me you look like some kind of old pervert that just follows us around and keeps asking unnecessary questions. Like… Did you ever even win a fight that wasn't for a quest?"

"W-what!?"

I'm genuinely shocked by their opinion. Like, come on. Really? I'm here rescuing the people I despise and this is what I get? And did she really have to point out I haven't won anything YET. Ugh. It's just filling me with hate… Hate… Such a familiar feeling… No. Not now. Just calm yourself and politely tell those kids you'll try your best.

"Well. Didn't you see me back there? I saved you two from that pig." I tried to reason, glancing over the fact she called me perverted and old.

"Uhm… He isn't wrong about that." Rom agreed.

"Meh. I still think you're just a pervert."

I stopped myself from shouting at the pre-schooler and sighed. "Let's just… Just… Ugh. Look. Either come with me or go home, okay?"

Rather than object any further, the twins agreed and followed suit. Jeez. This is why I don't have kids.

* * *

 **Entry number 47**

 **Centre of the Gamindustri Graveyard**

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

After a short walk, the trio arrived at the centre of the graveyard. In the middle of the open field, a large crowd of ASIC followers surrounded CFW Magic and the remaining captured CPUs, which were held by tentacles of all things. The humans were held a little further away from the crowd in an ordinary steel cage cage.

"Why is it always the tentacle cords?" Geoffrey questioned. "Like… can't they afford a cage? They're holding IF, Compa and Lilith in one. Why not use a second cage!?"

Ram glared at him. "There you go questioning everything again. It's annoying. Stop it."

Geoffrey let out a small 'hmph' before turning back to the crowd. "I don't think they've spotted us yet."

"Do you have a plan?" Rom asked.

"Sort of… There's about a hundred of them and they're all armed. So we got to draw those guys away first… Alright, this is what we'll do."

Meanwhile, CFW Magic was holding a speech to her followers about the revival of their Deity.

"-And that time has finally come. For so long we've awaited this moment. Our precious Deity's seal will be broken. She'll walk this earth once more."

"Yeah! And we'll totally get our awesome reward!" Someone in the crowd shouted.

"I'm gonna be so rich. What are you going to buy when you get your reward?"

"I'm going to buy like a million body pillows. One for each of my waifus."

"You crazy? I'm investing in that new Citizen Group thing. That stuff is a gold mine now that the CPUs are gone."

CFW Magic couldn't help but smile at her follower's naivety. "Of course. You'll all get your reward. Right after our Deity's seal has been undone."

With those words, she slowly walked towards the captured CPUs. "The time is right. Your sacrifices will mark our Deity's revival." She raised her scythe for the final blow. With the CPUs unconscious and trapped, there'd be no way for them to get out of the way. But then…

"Stop!" A childish voice cried.

 **BGM end**

Everyone in the crowd turned towards the voice.

It was Rom and Ram. Both of them had transformed and were ready for battle.

"If you hurt Blanc, I'll never forgive you!" Rom shouted.

"Yeah. Let our big sister go!"

Warechu stepped from out of the crowd and pointed his tiny paw at the twins. "Hey. CFW Trick was supposed to take care of you two. What are you all standing around for? Get them!"

With Warechu's encouragement, the followers and Warechu himself charged at the candidates.

"Catch us if you can!" Ram taunted as she and Rom turned tail and flew off. But not too fast. Just fast enough so the crowd couldn't get to them, but wouldn't give up either.

As they ran out of sight, Underling sighed in relieve. "Whew. That could've been really bad. Good thing those brats just came out and showed themselves, right CFW Magic?"

CFW Magic didn't respond. Instead she had her sight focussed on a remote rock in the open field.

"Uhm… CFW Magic?"

"I know you're there. Show yourself."

"Huh?" Confused, Underling turned towards the rock CFW Magic had been looking at.

"You're not as stupid as you look… I mean, to me you look like you just came back from being dead for seven eons." Geoffrey taunted as he revealed himself.

"Hey! It's that senile scumbag!" Underling said with a surprised tone.

Already used to Underling's insults, Geoffrey ignored her and focussed on the main treat. CFW Magic.

" _So this is the one that took out four CPUs and one CPU candidate without even breaking a sweat."_ He thought. _"This is going to be interesting. So far I've fought two other CFW's with help. And with this one being the strongest, it'll be a good test to finally see what my father's legacy is truly worth."_

Excited for the battle, Geoffrey began planning out what kind of approach he should take to 'conduct this experiment'. CFW Magic on the other hand was less than amused about the battle that was about to ensue.

 _"_ _A mere human is the last to stand between us and the revival of our deity."_ She thought. " _Pathetic. Not even five goddesses could stand up against me. I'll show him no mercy. Yet, I know mustn't drop my guard. Never again will I make the same mistake twice."_

On the side line, Underling was growing nervous. She knows the chemist isn't a push-over. But he'd never be able to match CFW Magic, right?

While everyone was having their internal monologue, a moment of silence had come. The witch and the chemist were staring each other down like cowboys at high noon. It wasn't until the chemist opened his mouth that the silence was broken.

"So… Can I just have those girls back? I kind of need them alive so I can keep doing my thing"

"And why would I ever listen to a mere human's request? Do you even know what you are dealing with, boy?"

"I can assure you, this 'boy' has PhD in general chemistry. How many PhD's do you have, huh?"

"I am not going to waste my time playing games with you." She said as she took a fighting stance. "If you're here to stop us, you'll join your friends in death."

"Sure. Whatever you say." Geoffrey smirked.

CFW Magic remained silent for a moment before turning to Underling. "Your name is Linda, correct?"

"Huh? Y-yeah. What is it CFW Magic?"

"I want you to stay out of this fight. I wish to show this one what hell incarnate looks like."

Underling's eyes widened. "What? No way. I can fight too!"

"Do you perhaps think weak of me?"

"N-no. Of course not."

CFW Magic turned back to the chemist. "Then stay out of this fight."

"Y-yes Ma'am! Just be careful. That guy doesn't fight fair."

"Neither do I."

Underling took a step forward. "I'm serious. He's some kind of scientist that uses all kinds of weird potions for weapons. They really hurt."

"I see… Thank you for the advice."

"Oi! You done talking yet?" Geoffrey impatiently asked with a frown that could make even the grumpiest man jealous. "You're kind of wasting time."

CFW Magic gave him a stern look. "I see the lamb wishes to be slaughtered sooner. Very well. I can grant that request."

"God, she has even more annoying one-liners than Neptune and Lilith combined. Just shut up!" With those words, Geoffrey summoned a dozen of bombs and threw it at Magic.

Magic easily evaded the attack by dashing through the few openings and flew forward with her scythe ready to strike.

The man of science reflexes quickly kicked in. He firmly took his journal from 'somewhere' and blocked the hit.

As he pulled his journal back to counter attack, he noticed the witch had flown past him and was charging at him once more at high speed.

"She's fast." Geoffrey groaned under his breath as he barely blocked another hit.

After each hit, the CFW dashed away from the man only to dash at him again from a different angle. The fact she also occasionally threw ranged magic attacks and feints to mix up her pattern didn't help Geoffrey either.

"Stop it!" Geoffrey yelled while tossing a barrage of flasks with poison at the CFW charging at him. Needless to say, she swiftly dodged it and backed off.

A grim smile appeared on the CFW's face as she saw how much damage she really managed to inflict. With the scientist covered in cuts and bruises while she had not taken any damage yet was a sight to behold for her.

"What are you laughing at, you sadist!?" Geoffrey angrily exclaimed. "Once I'm done with you…. Once I'm done you won't even have any fingers to write your last will with."

His treats didn't faze the CFW.

Once more, she dashed at the man of science with full intend to kill him.

As she brought her scythe down, Geoffrey quickly dodged out of the way. "You misse-" he got interrupted by Magic kicking him in the stomach, followed up by a few more slashes from the scythe. She ended her combo with a dark pulse of magic, launching the chemist a few feet into the air before landing on his stomach. This left him coughing and gasping for air. In the end, he gave up and appeared to be unconscious.

"Hmph… Just as I expected. All bark and no bite." She turned her back to him and returned her attention to the CPUs. "Now to finish the-"

"Watch out!" Underling warned.

As CFW Magic turned back, she got hit by a flask filled with deadly venom.

"Tsk. Idiot." Geoffrey mumbled under his breath as he emptied a syringe with the Fame Formula in his shoulder, which healed him instantly. "I think I broke a few ribs there. You're a lot stronger than you look."

CFW Magic desperately tried to get back on her feet but found herself unable to move. "Why you-… What… Is this?"

"Oh that? Yeah… you might not wanna swallow that stuff. It can cause heart failure, brain damage, haemorrhages and-."

"I don't care about that. Just… Ugh…" Magic tried to shake the effect off, but instead she fell to her knees. Paralyzed.

Geoffrey took his chance and ran towards the paralyzed witch. Right before he reached her, she forced herself to swipe her scythe at him. In response, Geoffrey took his journal from 'somewhere' to block the hit.

As he pushed the scythe away, grabbed it and threw it to the side before trashing her with his journal.

"Why. Won't. You. Just. Die!" He shouted with each hit. Right before he could get the last hit in, He got hit by something blunt on the back of his head.

"Agh! What was-" He stopped himself as he saw Underling's pipe on the ground. She must've thrown it at him.

"That's gonna cost you an eye once I'm done with this one."

Once again, something hit him in the back which sent him flying once more. This time it was a spell casted by the witch.

Recovered from the paralysis, Magic quickly retrieved her scythe.

"Grr… I… Really… Am starting to just HATE you." Geoffrey spat the word 'hate' as if it were acid.

CFW Magic didn't respond. Instead, she dashed forward with her scythe ready.

" _The same attack as before?"_ Geoffrey though. _"I won't get hit this time."_

Right when he was about to dodge, Magic quickly put her hand forward and launched a sphere of dark energy at him, paralyzing him.

"W-what!?"

"My turn."

Geoffrey closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact. They shot back open when the scythe impaled his chest.

"Gack…. Urk… Blech…" He mumbled.

The CFW could only laugh at the pathetic face he was pulling. "Your end is neigh."

She pulled her scythe back out, causing the man to fall face first to the floor. Declaring herself victorious, she turned back to the CPUs once more.

In other words, she made the same mistake twice.

"CFW Magic! He's… He's…!" Underling stuttered.

"What?"

CFW turned her head back to see the man get back up once more. This time with three empty syringes in jabbed into the side of his neck. To their surprise, the hole in his chest was gone.

"Tsk. Like a cockroach, he keeps on coming back. I suppose I'll have to crush you like one then."

Geoffrey ignored her insult. He'd love to give her a snarky comment, but instead he chose for the more productive option.

As he pulled the empty syringes out of his neck, he equipped his syringe claw and dashed forward.

The two exchanged blow after blow. Neither of them were backing off. After several blows they got stuck in a clash. In the end CFW Magic pulled back only to resume to trade blows with him.

With each blow, they both receiving more and more damage. It wasn't until Magic finally backed off to catch a breath before they'd stop lashing at each other.

"W-what the…" Magic looked herself over. She noticed she'd taken more hits than she'd first anticipated. Most of her visible body was covered in cuts, bruises and burns. And now that she got a moment of rest, she felt exhausted.

Her opponent wasn't any different. Exhausted and covered in cuts, Geoffrey was barely able to hold himself together. Even though he clearly was in a better state than he was at the start of the fight, thanks to the medicine. "You done yet? I can go for at least another five rounds!" He bluffed.

The CFW couldn't believe it. A mere human. Able to match her strength. No. She refused to believe. She refused to believe an insect was capable of pushing her this far.

"Grr… If the roach has a death wish… Then I'll be happy to grant it."

Magic closed her eyes and firmly took her scythe in both hands. She'd been toying with her opponent for long enough to realise she needed to finish this in a serious manner. The only way to break through his defences and stop him from healing himself was to go all out and kill him in one shot.

As she focussed her energy, her scythe began to glow with a very dark shade of purple.

" _That can't be good_." Geoffrey thought while preparing for her to attack, Even if he wasn't sure what to really expect her to do.

When the CFW was finally ready to attack, she swung her scythe and unleashed a dark energy slash at high speed. "BEGONE!"

Right before the slash could cut the scientist clean in half, he swung his journal at the energy wave. Surprising enough, the attack didn't cut straight through the cover. Instead it persisted to push against it, forcing Geoffrey to push it back or be hit by it.

"Nggh. C-…Come on!... COME. ON!" He groaned as he struggled to deflect the attack back.

Meanwhile Magic was amused by his struggle. She was certain there was no way for him to deflect her strongest attack at full power. That certainty quickly turned into worry when she noticed he was holding out very well. And what's worse was that the attack was actually slowly getting pushed back.

"Ngrrr….KYA!" He shouted as he sent the attack straight up. "Hah…. Whew…. Hah… That the best you got?" He taunted while catching his breath.

Truth be told, he didn't think he would actually be able to deflect such a powerful blast with just his journal. ' _Guess I underestimated the Fame Formula's healing potential. Even after all these years.'_ he thought.

Magic on the other hand couldn't believe what she just witnessed. "What!? Impossible! How! How did you-…" She stopped herself from talking any further. For some reason, it felt painful to even breath. Her heart felt like it was on fire and her head felt like it had just been hit by a train. Yet she didn't use that much of her strength yet. She was left to wonder how she was already at her limit. That was until she remembered what the scientist had told her just a few minutes ago.

" _You might not wanna swallow that stuff. It can cause heart failure, brain damage, haemorrhages and-."_

A burning heartache. A splitting headache. Two out of three symptoms he mentioned. And it was very likely she was bleeding internally. It could mean only one thing. She was poisoned. Badly.

Too bad for her, Geoffrey had noticed too. "Hm? What's the matter? Did you accidently drink some of the juice I threw you a second ago?... That's… Kinda anticlimactic if you ask me. But hey. If you wanna die that way, then so be it."

"Why you little- tsk… urk." Talking alone took a heavy toll on her body. She had to conserve her energy. But how?

She fell on all four and quickly laid down to get more comfortable.

 **BGM change: Pop! Goes the weasel (music box)**

Time was short. Geoffrey was walking towards the witch. Slowly. Steadily. Ready to put her out of her misery.

It wasn't until he got closer he could hear him celebrate by singing something. She couldn't quite make out what.

"Half a pound cyanide, all for the wi-itch…"

She recognised the tune. It's from an old song. A very old song. It was then she noticed she was surrounded by explosives. Bombs, vials with small explosives attached to them and… lemons?

She tried prying herself free, but the poison was preventing her from moving from her spot. Suddenly she realised what song he was singing.

"… You… You weasel." She raised her head to look at Geoffrey taking cover behind a rock. He was holding a remote.

He was still singing his annoying song. "Witch thought was all games and fu-u-un, UNTIL POP"

*press* **_*BOOOM*_**

 **BGM end**

"… Pop goes the bi-itch." He snickered as he finished the song.

The spot where CFW originally sat was now covered with smoke and a greenish blaze [Chapter 4]. The only thing that remained was her scythe and a few crimson spots. The rest of the area was covered in ashes. It was clear that CFW Magic did not survive.

"hehe… HAHAHA! Yes! I did! I finally won my first fight! In your face losing streak!"

A little bit away from the fight was Underling. "C-… CFW Magic? Is she… she's…"

Underling couldn't believe what just happened. The person she admired the most, the invincible CFW Magic, had been beaten by the person she hated the most. A weak, old smartass.

She was furious, yet afraid. She didn't dare think of what would happen to her if she tried to avenge her boss.

"I… I swear I'll be back for you. You senile scumbag. You'll see."

And with those words Underling left the Gamindustri Graveyard to fight another day.

* * *

 **POV: Lilith**

"…"

"..-ey…-ke u-…"

"hrmrmm.."

"I sai-… hey- ...wa-… u-…"

"Hrngg… Just.. five more…"

"I SAID WAKE UP!"

"Gah!"

Surprised, I awoke from my slumber, only to be graced with a familiar ugly mug. One dressed in some battle scarred clothing.

"… Ugh… Seriously. Can you never wake me up like a normal person?... Why are you wearing shorts? What happened to your shirt? Why's there a massive hole in the chest area? And more important… Where are we?"

I looked around. The area somewhat resembled the Gamindustri Graveyard, but the entire place is covered in snow. We must be near Lowee.

"It's the graveyard hon. Just with a layer of snow." Geoff answered while ignoring most of my other questions.

"… Why is it snowing? It's may."

"Beats me. Anyway, go wake Compa up. I'll do IF."

"Uhm… Still. Just… what happened?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?"

"Do you?"

"…"

Geoffrey sighed. "Fine. Fine. I'll explain. Just try and wake Compa in the meantime."

I got up and tried to remain my balance. I feel like I've been sitting for a whole month. My legs feel so stiff. Throbbing with pain even. I really hope Geoff brought an escape button, because there's no way I'm walking out of here.

"Alright." Geoff started. "So here's the deal. I just killed Magic and Trick and now the Deity of Sin is waking up in about… I'd say half an hour."

"… Wait what? That's one of your shitty jokes, right?"

"…"

"… You're serious? But… None of us are in any shape to even hold a weapon. Let alone fight."

Geoffrey glanced me over while still figuring out how to 'properly' wake IF up. "You do look pretty sleepy, I guess… You think the others are just as tired?"

"What? No. I think they'll be in great shape. I think through some plot convenient way they'll end up being in top form and just steamroll the Deity of Sin." I said with a tone of sarcasm.

"Really? Good. That would mean I can sit back and-"

"I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!" I shouted.

Geoff rolled his eyes. "Well we don't really have time to be tired, now do we?... Well… I suppose this would be a good time to spend a years' worth of work. Here. Take this."

Geoff took a pencil-shaped object out of his breast pocket and tossed it my way. Caught off guard, it clumsily bounced between my hands before ultimately dropped it.

The pencil was made of yellow plastic with a bright round red button on the top.

"What's this?" I asked as I picked it up.

"Medicine." Geoff responded while taking another one of those pencil-shaped things out of his pocket. "Just press the button once. Then again when you're ready to inject."

"… Inject?"

Like he instructed, I pressed the button once. With that, the bottom of the pencil pulled itself back, revealing a small needle. In the middle a long bit of plastic withdrew itself, revealing a bit of see-through glass. The contents of the plastic syringe were now visible.

The syringe was filled with some bubbling black ooze. Whatever this stuff was, it probably is anything but medicine.

Soon enough, I realised what it actually was. I had seen it before.

"Wait a second. Hey! Don't you inject IF yet!"

Geoff had already put the needle through IF's skin. He had to merely press the button again. "What's the matter?" He calmly asked.

"I-I know this stuff. It's the Rage Formula isn't it? The same stuff you used on CFW Brave to make him fight us!"

He raised an eye brow and gave me a questioning look. "… The journal. How much did you really read?"

"I may have had my copy somewhere."

To be honest, I just read about it when I once got hold of Nepgear's N-gear by chance. Funny enough, this guy has more secrets than that old indie horror game series about animatronics. As if he's some kind of overly complex fictional character… Hum.. I really should distance myself from Neptune. I'm starting to think like her.

"So you read all of it? Hmph. Fine. Yes, this is the Rage Formula. But brought down to a non-lethal level."

" _That stuff can be lethal?"_ I thought.

"Unlike the one I had used on CFW Brave, this one will only give a small adrenaline boost and get rid of exhaustion. Really, it's only a third is Rage Formula. The rest is just water."

"And how do I know you're not just trying to kill everyone? Seriously, you become less and less trust worthy by the minute. First you abandon us when you make us fight CFW Brave thanks to this poisonous concoction and then you decide to send us into battle against ASIC without any real back up."

Another sigh of annoyance escape Geoff's mouth. "First, the death of CFW Brave was necessary. Second, I didn't abandon anyone. You guys just left without me. Now, we only have about… I dunno, twelve minutes or so left before that old hag comes back from the grave. Either take the medicine or give it back."

"Eh? But only four minutes have passed."

"Guess I was wrong the first time. Now make a choice."

He held his hand forward with an open palm. Either give it back or use it.

I examined the plastic syringe once more. The bubbling black ooze inside. My gut is telling me to not even consider trusting his word. What if it isn't thinned out. What if it isn't even the Rage Formula to start with?

I turned my eyes back to him one more time. "You're sure about this stuff working right? I won't turn into a rampaging monster that's only out to kill others?"

"You have my word. I swear it on my PhD."

"Didn't it somehow get withdrawn after your accident though?"

"…"

"Right. Right. I get it."

I firmly took the syringe, looking at it once more. I have a terrible feeling about this.

"H-hey. By the way, how are you going to get all the CPUs awake?" I asked, looking for an excuse to delay the injection once more. "I mean, those tentacles look a lot stronger since the last time. And they've been sucking their share energy out of them like crazy, I think."

Geoffrey shrugged. "Don't worry. I took some of the share crystals I managed to make since we took residence in Planeptune."

Again, he reached in his pocket and took out some odd looking share crystals. Usually, share crystals are aqua blue with a power symbol inside of it. The crystal he was holding was blood red with what appeared to be an eye inside.

"Uhh… I don't think that's a share crystal. Didn't Histoire give you the real deal when she sent you here?" I asked.

"She did. But I need to know if mine are just as good as the real ones. According to my research, these crystals have the same mass, radiating wave length and volume as a real share crystal. There's no way this can go wrong."

Forgetting about IF for a moment, he got up and turned to the CPUs, still wrapped up in black tentacle-like cables.

Inspecting the self-made crystal once more, he tossed it up a few times and then proceeded to slowly walk towards the CPUs.

I quickly paced to catch up with him and grabbed him by his right arm. "You can't be serious. You really don't care about their safety, do you?"

He turned to look back at me with those same as ever dead eyes. "… I'll test it on the annoying one first, if that's any consolation."

I tightened my grip on his arm. "That annoying one has a name."

"Sure. Neptune. Whatever. Shouldn't you be injecting yourself before the Deity of Sin awakens?"

"Not before you get Histoire's share crystal. The real one!"

He shook himself free from my grip. "Fine. Here. Look. A blue shiny crystal. Now. Only like… five minutes left until she's here. It'll take just as long for the dilution to actually take effect. Give yourself the shot now or go home."

I gave the syringe one last look. I'd much rather just have some other medicine. But we already burned through all our items in our battle with CFW Magic. And I doubt Geoff is going to give me anything else.

Reluctantly, I let the needle pierce the skin of my arm and press the red button once more.

 **This was a mistake.**

Right as the mixture had entered my body, I felt a burning feeling in my arm, spreading to my chest. My heart. My lungs. My head. Everything started to burn. As if someone was leaking molten lead over me.

I fell over, fighting to hold consciousness.

Somewhere far away, yet close, I heard a faint laugh. Geoffrey's laugh.

With all my might I looked up. I could see a figure holding a red crystal. Vaguely, but surely, he had once again taken the crimson share crystal out of his pocket.

I wanted to lash out to him. Hit him in the head, scratch his eyes out. Just anything.

But I couldn't. I was stuck here. Down on the ground. Struggling to breath. My consciousness slowly fading.

But before I went under, I heard him ask one last question.

" _What do all stories have in common, Lily?"_ echoed through my mind.

I'm not sure how, but somehow the words escape my mouth, almost automatically.

 **They… They begin.**

And right as I blacked out, I heard him say those dreaded words.

 **And they end.**

* * *

 **Entry number 48**

 **Gamindustri Graveyard**

 **POV: Nepgear**

…

…

"Mmhm…"

…

"Gah!.. Huh? Where am I? What happened?"

The last thing I remember was heading out for the graveyard and fighting ASIC… And losing. We would have won if I didn't miss my final hit on CFW Magic during the EXE attack Uni, Rom, Ram and I did. What did we call it again? Superior Angels? It really had some solid teamwork, but it was just improvised on the spot.

I got up in a sitting position and looked around for any clues that could tell me where I was. The only thing I saw was snow… So this must be Lowee then, right?

"Nepgear?"

"Huh?"

I turned to the one calling me. It was Uni. She looked just fine in fine condition. Although she appears to have red eyes… Well, more red than usual.

"Uni? What happened? Where are we?"

"I… I don't know. But I guess this is Lowee. How did we and our sisters end up here?"

"Our sisters?" I looked past Uni and noticed our sisters. Which means only Lilith, Compa, IF, Rom and Ram are still missing.

"NEPGEAR! UNI!" A man shouted a fair distance away from us.

Uni and I both turned to the source and saw Geoffrey running towards us with Rom and Ram following close behind.

As soon as they reached us, Geoffrey took kneeled down to my level and began inspecting me… Or… Examining me?

"Blood pressure seems normal. Eyes… Not red. That's good. Hey Nepgear say something."

"Huh? Uhm… What do you mean?"

Geoffrey let a sigh of relief escape his lips. "Whew. You aren't stuttering. Which means you are perfectly fine… Kind of."

I was slightly uncomfortable by him adding kind of to the end of his sentence. What was he even talking about?

"Anyway, how are you feeling? Are you alright?" He asked.

How am I feeling? Well… I'm light headed, my heart is pounding and my body is hurting all over for some reason.

"I'm fine… I think." I responded. Despite all of this, I do feel pretty good. I don't feel any different from usual after having a big fight or so.

"Are you sure miss Nepgear?" Rom asked politely. "You did take a big hit back then."

"Yeah. That Dooty of Sin hit you real hard with that final attack." Ram added.

Dooty of Sin? Oh. She must mean the Deity of Sin… Wait.

"WHAAAAT" Uni and I both shouted.

"The Deity of Sin is here? Alive? Awake? Where is she?" Uni asked as took out her gun.

Rom, Ram and Geoffrey looked at each other as if Uni had just said something really silly.

"Miss Uni. Do you… Not remember anything?" Rom asked in her usual timid manner.

"Yeah, Uni." Geoffrey butted in. "We kind of already won. Did that weird last shadowy thing blast or whatever erase your memory or something?"

"What weird shadowy thing blast?" I asked.

"… Rom. Ram. Don't panic, but I think everyone that got hit by that attack has a bad case of amnesia."

"Amnie-… Amene-…" Ram tried to repeat. "Amon-… What's that?"

"… I'll tell you when we get back to the bassilicom. Because we probably should get out of here."

"What do you mean?" Ram asked. Her question wasn't left unanswered for long.

A sudden earthquake shook both Uni and Rom off their feet. Geoffrey and Ram were both struggling to stand. I was still sitting down, but even so I was still having trouble keeping it at that.

"I-I… I think this entire place is about to collapse now that the Deity is dead. Any question about amnesia and what not will be answered later. Now's a good time to leg it."

"Hey hey! Aren't you forgetting something?" Ram interrupted. "You came here to rescue us AND our sister."

"We can't leave Blanc here." Rom added.

"Oh… Right… Uh… I'll carry Vert and you four carry your own sisters. Alright?"

Without even waiting for any conformation Geoffrey dashed to Vert, tossed her over his shoulder and ran to the nearest exit.

"H-hey! Wait!" Uni called after him. ".. And he's gone. Great."

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" Ram said while she and Rom took their sister. "We get everyone and Blanc out of here."

"We'll carry Blanc to a safe place!" Rom followed up.

I glanced at Uni which simply nodded at me and then proceeded to carry her own sister.

"Well… Alright then. Let's go Neptune."

 **Undocumented entry**

 **Somewhere near the graveyard**

 **POV: Mina**

It had been quite some time since Geoffrey entered the graveyard.

"…"

Histoire had informed me that she had just recently lost connection with him, which worries me.

"…"

But I have to stick to the plan and keep watch for anyone leaving the graveyard from this side.

"…"

If I were to go in and by chance miss everyone coming out, I would never forgive myself.

"…"

"This… This is a tedious task though." I mumbled to myself. "I'd wish they would just hurry and come out safely."

It was then that a bright light blinded me. When it faded, I saw lady Green Heart in front of me. Unconscious. She must've used an escape button to exit the dungeon.

I rushed over and crouched to see if she was okay.

Her pulse and breathing seem fine, but she has a few scratches on her body.

I let a sigh of relieve escape my lips. "I'm glad he managed to get her out. But what about the rest?"

For the next ten minutes or so, I tended to her wounds with some of the medicine I had taken with me. I couldn't leave them untreated. It's best to take care of them as soon as possible.

When I was about to call Histoire the others came rushing through the exit, each carrying their sisters.

"We *huff*… We're… *puff*… We made it." Nepgear said as she carefully put down her sister.

"Pff. Tired already. I could go another mile!" Ram bragged.

I rushed over to the young girls as soon as I saw them. "Ah! There they are. Is everyone okay?"

"Huh? Hey. You're Mina Nishizawa. Lowee's oracle, right?" Uni asked while gently laying Noire down.

"Indeed. Lady Histoire has asked me to watch over this exit and take you back to Planeptune as soon as everyone got out."

Nepgear got a little stressed out as soon as I mentioned 'everyone'. "Huh? W-wait? Aren't we missing someone? Where did Geoffrey and Lilith go? And what about Compa and IF?"

"Hey, yeah. Wasn't he supposed to carry Vert out?" Ram asked.

"Now now children. Lady Vert is safe and sound." I stepped aside and showed the rest Lady Vert.

"Huh? But… How did she get here?" Rom questioned.

"I do believe she used an escape button." I clarified. "If I may ask, I do wonder. Why did none of you use an escape button to exit the dungeon instantly?"

They all looked at each other with a painful expression. They must've forgotten about it.

"In any case, there is no time. We must make way for Planeptune now."

* * *

 **Entry number 49**

 **Planeptune bassilicom**

 **POV: 3** **rd** **person**

Minutes after the CPUs were a safe distance from the Gamindustri graveyard, it finally gave in and half of it collapsed into the sea. The other half was left in ruins, all the junk buried beneath the rubble.

Meanwhile Histoire and the other oracles had already received the good news from Mina. And soon enough, they returned to the bassilicom.

Of course, any welcome's and happy greetings had to come later. First, they had to put everyone in bed to recover.

Everyone except Nepgear and Uni.

"Nepgear. Uni. Please. You two also lay down and rest." Histoire insisted. "You two have been imprisoned for days and defeated the Deity of Sin right after. It would not be wise to exert any more on your bodies."

"But Histoire. We're fine. I think." Nepgear assured in her usual unsure manner. "Besides, I want to celebrate our victory!"

"Nonsense. You two will get in bed and sleep. That is an order!"

Nepgear pouted like a child, but in the end she decided to put on her comfy pyjamas and get in bed. Uni on the other hand didn't bother dressing and went in bed in her lingerie. She didn't have her pyjama with her anyway.

Five minutes of silence passes. Uni was still wide awake with the adrenaline rushing through her body. She just couldn't understand how she did not remember a single thing from the battle with the Deity of Sin.

"Hey. Uni. Are you still awake?" Nepgear whispered.

"Of course I am." Uni whispered back. "I just can't understand how neither of us can remember anything from the final battle."

"Oh, never mind that. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Well…" Nepgear leaned in closer. "We should get dressed and go out."

"Wait, you mean now?"

Nepgear happily nodded. "What do you say? Want to join in?"

Uni sighed. She didn't really want to get into trouble. But she felt like she was being treated like a child. Plus, she wouldn't want to miss a 'date' with Nepgear. Even if she didn't think of it as that.

"Fine. Let's just hurry this up then before Histoire notices."

After getting dressed, the two girls attempted to sneak past the living room. And with success. They did both see Geoffrey and Histoire arguing about something, but they couldn't be bothered to wait and risk getting caught. It was quite reassuring to see Geoffrey made it out alive. Which means it is very likely Lilith, Compa and IF also got out.

If they had stuck around a little longer, they would have heard what the conversation was actually about.

"This? This is not what I asked for. I demanded you brought everyone back safely." Histoire said as stern as she could while keeping her voice down.

"No. I you asked me to bring back every CPU. And I did just that." Geoffrey replied in a cold fashion.

"I asked of you to bring everyone back."

"You asked of me to get every last CPU. And so I did."

"I… Well… I refuse to hold on my end of the deal if that is how it is."

"Do you think that would be wise, Histoire? Must I remind you of what awaits Planeptune if I just pressed the Citizens Group just in the right spot? They'd be relentless. Especially now that ASIC was stopped by a mere human."

"…"

Geoffrey let out a small laugh while rubbing his chin, imagining what would happen if Histoire would break her promise.

"I can already see it. They'd be furious to hear that CPUs are flaunting with the pride of taking down ASIC after being defeated by them. And stealing the credit from a normal, average man no less. And not only did they disregard him completely, but they also decided to punish him instead."

"…"

"I would love to see that happen. But then again. I don't think you would want that."

Histoire closed her eyes. She had a defeated expression.

"I have been playing in your hands the entire time, haven't I?"

"Never make wagers with cheaters Histoire. You should've sent me back when you had the chance. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some more work to do in my lab. I hope I can expect a container with exactly 600 grams of share crystals at my doorstep in an hour."

"600? I would never give you that much. That's not what we agreed on."

Slightly annoyed, Geoffrey turned around and took a few steps towards the hallway. "600 isn't even that much. Plus, I promise to be… ahem, 'gentle' with everyone if my research proves to be successful… Now then. If you'll excuse me."

* * *

 **Undocumented Entry**

 **Ruins of the Graveyard (Night Time)**

 **POV: Uni**

 **BGM: 8PM – Animal crossing: New Leaf**

After the we regrouped, everyone returned to Planeptune. Once there, we all collapsed onto the bed. Everyone was broken from the hard fought battle. But we all knew we had just saved the world. So it was a small price to pay.

Nepgear and I however were the only ones to not feel that tired strange enough. In fact, we felt better than ever.

To celebrate our victory over ASIC, she asked me on a date…. I mean, erm... a friendly trip to somewhere isolated where no one else could find us. Yes. That.

So what better place than the now ruins of the Gamindustri Graveyard? All the monsters are gone and no one would dare to return to the once cursed grounds. Of course, now that they're cleansed, I don't feel as afraid of them anymore as I did before. In fact, the atmosphere was somewhat comforting. Sure, the rocky ruins were plain and boring, but at night you could see the starry night sky better than anywhere in Gamindustri.

So we decided to have a nice picnic. With a picnic blanket and all. We may have made a detour past the kitchen on our way out.

And now… Now I'm just sitting here. Next to my best friend. Still. I can't believe we only got to be friends because of some 'future dairy' Nepgear just so happened to find.

But you know what? I'm happy it turned out this way. Even if our lives were at stake at one point. I'm happy Noire is back in her office. Safe and sound, working for Lastation's prosperity.

I'm happy Kei can finally take a day off of work. Now that ASIC is gone for good, she no longer has to put in extra hours in the weekend either. I don't even know how she kept herself alive with all the working she did.

But most of all, I'm happy that after all this I can rest easy knowing I made my big sis proud. Just like Lilith told me. Noire wanted to see me at my finest. She didn't want me to feel bad about her disappearance. She wanted me to stay determined because of it. Determined to rescue her. And that I did.

Nepgear… I wonder if you're just as happy as I am.

"So… You wanted to go stargazing with me?" Nepgear asked while taking a croissant out of the picnic basket she had brought with her.

"I suppose you could call it that." I cheerfully answered with a kind smile. "You know. You and I never really got to do anything together. You know, like normal girls."

Nepgear responded with a nod. I'm sure she's just as happy as I am to be able to sit here without a care. In an open field with no baddies around to disturb us.

"Normal girly things, huh." Nepgear after taking a sip from her orange juice. "I didn't think you liked girly stuff, Uni."

"O-of course I do. We might be CPUs, but we deserve a day off too, you know?"

Nepgear let out a small chuckle. "I guess you're right. Goodness. The stars really are beautiful from here."

I looked up at the sky and admired the sea of stars. "Yeah. They really are."

A moment of silence overtook the ambiance.

"Hey Uni. Are you really happy things turned out this way?" Nepgear asked out of the blue.

I looked back at her with a surprised look. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well… We nearly got killed by ASIC and almost failed to prevent the Deity of Sin's rampage. I partially feel responsible for letting this happen because of how we influenced the course of time."

I rubbed the back of my head. "Well… If you put it that way, I suppose I feel a little guilty too. But it all turned out fine, right? So we should just take this as a lesson to no longer mess with time. Okay?"

"Right!" Nepgear responded with glee.

After we stuffed ourselves, we decided to lay down. Of course, even with a picnic blanket, the solid rocky ground was still as hard as…. Rocks. Luckily, we had packed a few pillows to lay on. But only enough for one person. So… We…. Uh… had to share.

"I-i-i-isn't the s-sky just p-p-precious… U-uni?" Nepgear asked while looking the other way, clearly embarrassed to be hugging me this tightly.

"Y-yeah… Sure is."

 _"_ _Gosh, I don't think I'm mentally ready for this."_ I thought. " _What if we… we… No. Don't even think about that. Nothing is happening here. Nothing is happening here. Let's just go to sleep. Alright. I'll ask her now."_

"Nepgear" "Uni"

We both called out each other's name.

"O-oh… You go first." I politely said.

"R-right. I just wanted to say… well… I'm not completely unhappy with how things turned out."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Nepgear looked me back straight in the eyes. "Well… I'm happy you and I are friends, even though we never were supposed to be BFF's."

"EH? D-don't say s-something so embarrassing!" I stuttered. "I-I might get t-the wrong idea and… and.."

Nepgear put some distance between our faces. "Huh? What wrong idea?"

"… Never mind." I sighed. I forgot how innocent she can be. "I'm kind of tired. Do you mind if we… we sleep like this?"

"Huh? Oh, of course not. Feel free to use me as your personal lap, Uni." She responded a little too happily. Right. Innocent. She has no weird intentions.

"R-right… Alright. G-goodnight Nepgear."

"Goodnight Uni."

I laid my head on her shoulder, making sure I'm nowhere near her chest. It was surprisingly comfortable. I think I could get used to this.

So… comfty…

…

…

"Did you say something?" Nepgear suddenly asked.

"mmm… No… I'm… sleeping…. Zzz"

"Uhm… Uni?"

"zzz"

"UNI!" While shouting my name, Nepgear suddenly shook me awake.

 **BGM end**

"Ah! H-hey! What was that for?" I angrily asked while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Look!" Nepgear pointed into the distance at little black shadowy blob. Look at it more carefully, it appeared to be some kind of purple Dogoo.

"Dogoo! Dogoo!"

"… It's just a Dogoo." I deadpanned.

"Isn't that strange?" Nepgear asked while getting up from her spot.

"Why is that strange. It's just a Dogoo."

Nepgear shook her head. "What I mean is that it hasn't attacked us yet. And it clearly saw us. Also… Don't think it's… waving at us? I feel like we should follow it."

"… You're a weird one Nepgear." I plainly said while laying down back on the pillows with closed eyes.

After a brief delay I could hear footsteps running away from me. Guess she really wanted to follow that Dogoo.

I'll just lay back down. Alone. I guess.

…

…

…

…

Okay this doesn't have the same effect alone.

I got up and headed into the direction Nepgear and the Dogoo had disappeared to.

It only took a minute until I spotted the two staring at a rock into the distance.

" _What are they doing?_ " I asked myself in my mind.

As I got closer, I saw Nepgear with widened teary eyes still staring at the one spot. Right as I got close enough, I had to cover my nose due to the disgusting odour hanging in the air around this spot. Yuck.

"Nepgear!? Are you alright?" I asked out of concern.

She kept on staring at the one spot without responding.

I can't exactly see what she's looking at. I'm right behind the rock so…

I walked up to her and followed her eye sight. My eyes widened in shock as I realised what the Dogoo had led us to. Like I had guessed, the smell was indeed coming from whatever was behind that rock. But I never imagined this.

Because it was dark I had trouble figuring out what exactly it was. I could only see a few bright colours like the red stains, the ripped green jacket and what appeared to be brown hair. I quickly realised it was a person.

And I even sooner realised it was very likely a corpse.

The corpse, half sticking out of the ground was disgustingly mangled and covered in blood with its face covered by its long brown hair. From the few parts that were sticking out of the ground, most of it was covered in cuts and bruises. Even the top of the head had a few bald spots with some nasty wounds. Whatever this person went through, it wasn't a quick death.

What disturbed me the most however was that I knew those clothes. That green jacket. I've seen it before. It was somewhat familiar.

I crouched down and pushed some of its hair aside. Out of shock, fell back on my rear and reactively pushed myself away from the spot.

"LILITH!?"

* * *

 _I don't know what exactly happened. I don't know where I am. But when I opened my eyes, I was in this… well… 'place'. A room. Dark. Black. A void. There's nothing here. No one but me. I suddenly felt something vibrate in my pocket. It was my sis's N-gear. It had just received a voice message. I played the message. A familiar voice spoke. I don't quite recognise who, but I'm sure it was someone I know. But I was terrified at the words it had left for me._

 ** _Bad ending._**

 ** _Game. Over._**

 _Continue_

 _Quit_

 _True ending_

* * *

 **Welp. If you've been reading the story (which you should've), you probably already know I love my cliffhangers. Fortunately, I'll try to release the next chapter sooner. Much sooner. So stay tuned!**

 **Oh. And for those who remember the Lost Entries, I haven't added the next one yet, as I've considered rewriting both the prologue and the Lost Entries. Expect its release after the next chapter.**

 **Until then.**

 **-Porpol**


	16. Discontinue Notice

As you can tell by the chapter title, I've decided to officially discontinue the story.

This probably is a bit sudden, but I've been thinking about doing this for some time now and I have my reasons to do so. The main reasons being I just don't like the story anymore and looking back it suffers from a lot of flaws, both in a story aspect and in a narrator aspect.

However, this doesn't mean I'm quitting writing altogether. In fact, I've still got a few one-shot ideas and I've already started working on a new story. 'HDN: Ruination'. Now you're probably wondering what this story will be about or why I'm mentioning it here in the first place. To answer the latter question, Ruination (as I'll call it from now on) will feature both main OCs of this story; Geoffrey and Lilith. However, both characters will be significantly different and will only retain their key features. I've decided to keep their names in for a personal reason.

Now, I did say I've ' _officially_ ' decided to discontinue the story, but I know that this might be a huge disappointment for some people. So if for some reason you do like F&G that much, you are allowed to either leave a review, send me a PM or your voice be heard in some other way. If enough people complain, I'll look it over, give it another shot and I'll see where it goes from there.

Tl;dr, this story is discontinued, but there will be a somewhat spiritual successor to it.

I hope you can understand my choice and I hope you'll give Ruination a read.


End file.
